


Tale of a Darkened Heart (2nd Arc)

by Aloubell



Series: Destiny Song [2]
Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga), Fushigi Yuugi
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Crossover, Dimension Travel, F/M, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 13:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 63,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22157074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloubell/pseuds/Aloubell
Summary: Just as Akimoto Tsubaki had tasted friendship and what it meant to be cared about, she was taken away, allowing what was meant to happen, to happen. Now her journey continues onto the unknown path the old woman Taiitsukun had placed her.In a new world, Akimoto is faced with a mysterious curse plaguing the members of one particular family. Having crashed into their lives, she tries to keep her darkness in check so that these people won't have to suffer any more. And with an unfair handicap placed upon her as well as new feelings to figure out, will she be able to handle what lies ahead?
Series: Destiny Song [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579228
Comments: 13
Kudos: 2





	1. Keep It In The Family

This is a continuation from Tale of a Darkened Heart (1st Arc)

======================

Akimoto, still in the lap of this mysterious teenage boy, looks up at his shocked expression, not knowing what to do or say. The boy seemed to be roughly around Akimoto’s age, give or take a couple years. Her face begins to redden as she continues to look at him. Another teenage boy was at the table along with a man who also stared at the situation. From the food spread out on the table, it was clear they were in the middle of having a meal. The red-haired boy whom Akimoto was with, after recovering from the shock, yells at her, demanding who she is and how she got there.

Right as Akimoto begins to answer him, Taiitsukun sends a telepathic message to where only Akimoto could hear. She tells Akimoto to not let anyone in this world know that she has powers or that she’s magical at all or else she’ll fail her task.

Akimoto lets out an audible and loud “What?!” And immediately makes her body stop glowing without giving it another thought. Right as she did so, there was a loud _poof!_ and golden smoke puffed up from under her as the boy seemed to disappear. She no longer felt his legs under her, but instead, a small lump of some kind.

The other teenage boy at the table stood up in alarm.

Once the smoke cleared, Akimoto looked around her for the boy who disappeared. All she found was the boy’s clothes under her…and something else.

She was sitting on an orange cat!

Akimoto gasped and jumped up from her spot, apologizing to the cat and asking if it was alright. The cat glared up at her intensely. She immediately figured that this cat was the boy she landed on (after all, consider all the crazy and unbelievable things she’d seen in the Feudal Era with Inuyasha). She asked it if she caused him to transform like that or if that’s just something he can consciously do. The cat continued to glare.

The man finally stood up and approached Akimoto; he had a friendly atmosphere about him and smiled at her. He told her that Kyo here will be just fine; he’s taken much harder hits than that.

The other teenage boy began to chastise the man, saying that he shouldn’t so carelessly confirm her suspicions like that.

Then the man said “Relax, Yuki, she doesn’t appear to be hostile or devious in any way. Considering she came out of nowhere, if she wanted to accomplish a sneak-attack, she easily could have. Besides, haven’t you noticed how unfazed by all of this she is?”

Yuki looked at Akimoto with silent caution and inspected her and her outfit. He asked her where she came from and how she got into their house. There’s no sign of forced entry; not even a hole in the ceiling from where she came. The angle at which she dropped suggests she fell straight down. So how did she do that?

Akimoto remained silent. She thought about ways she could get out of this situation as discreetly as possible. She also wondered why Taiitsukun would set her up in such an impossible situation. First, she tells her to make those symbols glow on her and then says to keep her magical side a secret knowing fully well that she’d be dropped in this place. What kind of test was this?

Yuki goes on to notice her clothes, saying how worn out they look as well as old-fashioned.

After settling in on the situation, Akimoto is able to internally calm down and put her poker face back on as to not give away any of her distress…or anything else for that matter. If she were allowed to use her magic, she could easily get out. But apparently that’s no longer an option.

The man intercepts Yuki’s interrogation and introduces himself as Shigure Sohma, the head of the household. He then reintroduces the other two, Kyo and Yuki Sohma once more, telling her that they were his younger cousins who live with him. He then politely asks Akimoto for her name.

Akimoto wonders if she should tell them. This situation was already complicated enough.

Shigure then gives her a charming smile and says “Please.”

Still not letting up on her poker face, she calmly tells them. “I’m…Akimoto Tsubaki.” She looks down and away from them. “Sorry for…barging into your home out of nowhere. I had no idea that was going to happen.”

“So that means you knew _something_ was going to happen?” Shigure asked with increasing interest.

Akimoto’s poker face twitched.

Suddenly, the golden smoke from before emerged from Kyo the cat and filled the room. Not a moment later, a completely naked human Kyo stood up, back faced to everyone. Even though the smoke covered up all the important part’s of Kyo’s body, Akimoto’s countenance broke and she panicked with a heated face. She turned away from Kyo and squatted down onto the floor, covering her eyes.

Kyo, not reacting in such a way, merely scowled, scooped up his clothes and excused himself to another room to get dressed.

Akimoto, trying to wipe away anything she saw out of memory, began to think about what she’s witnessed so far. Considering Kyo probably wasn’t the type to just be naked in front of people voluntarily, his transformation is at least partially uncontrollable. The more she thought about it, he likely couldn’t control turning into a cat either. Why would a cat who weighs so much less than a human want to have to bear the weight of a person on their bodies? And judging by everyone’s relatively calm reactions to this phenomenon, this must happen often enough. Maybe this is just a thing for the people in this world?

Calming down a bit, Akimoto tells them that she didn’t mean to turn Kyo into a cat. Unless…his transformations just happen at random?

Shigure tells Akimoto that it was, in fact, her who did that.

Yuki scolds Shigure some more. “Shigure! Have a bit of self-control with the information you choose to share!”

Shigure tells Yuki, “There’s no point in hiding it. Akimoto already saw everything. Might as well give her the details so that no more accidents can occur, right?”

Akimoto finally connects everything they’ve been saying. “Wait…is…all of this supposed to be a secret? So…humans in this world don’t typically do that?” Akimoto realized too late that she said something she shouldn’t have said.

Shigure slid up to Akimoto with a cheeky and suspicious grin. “‘Humans in _this_ world?’ There’s an awful lot to unpack in that tiny statement of yours, my dear.”

Yuki asks, “Are you saying that you’re not from this world? And that you aren’t human? What else could you be?”

“An alien perhaps? Or maybe a demon? Or a deity?” Shigure insists.

Akimoto, feeling overwhelmed (though not showing it since she’s wearing her poker face), begins to back up and tell them that she’s going to leave now. She apologizes for all the chaos and for wasting their time. After spotting a door, she decides to walk towards it.

Shigure then reaches out for Akimoto and places a hand on her shoulder.

“Sorry, but we can’t let you go just yet.”

Akimoto, preparing for the worst, begins to think of ways she could defend herself without magic.

Out of nowhere, Kyo runs into the room, fully dressed, and jump kicks Shigure away from Akimoto, telling Shigure to stop acting so creepy. Shigure falls to the ground and chuckles, saying that that wasn’t his intention.

Yuki calls Kyo a brutish cat for solving this issue with such pointless violence. Kyo turns and growls at Yuki, calling him a wimpy rat for letting Shigure act that way. Kyo calls him spineless.

They glare at each other.

Akimoto merely watches them. More specifically, she’s watching Kyo very intently. The more she watches him, the more her face begins to heat up and her heart rate rises. She’s having a hard time taking her eyes off him. 

Shigure, from his spot on the ground, notices Akimoto staring at Kyo in such a way and he knowingly smirks to himself. He then stands up and dusts himself off, approaching Akimoto once more. He reassures her that those two are fine and that they argue quite often.

Akimoto only replies with “Uh huh…” as she continues to stare at Kyo.

Shigure then casually asks Akimoto if he could hug her real quick.

This snaps Akimoto out of her trance as she looks up at Shigure with alarm.

Kyo knocks Shigure upside the head and tells him again to stop being a creep. Yuki actually agrees with Kyo this time and tells Shigure to act with more decency.

Shigure chuckles again and comments on their youthful energy. He then shakes off the blow and says to Akimoto, “I want to test something out. When you first got here, your body was glowing with these weird symbols. As you laid on Kyo, he didn’t transform. Typically, if someone of the opposite sex embraces us in some way or if too much of their bodies touch, then we turn into animals. But that didn’t initially happen with you. It wasn’t until you turned off that glow that Kyo transformed. It was only a one-time thing, which could be a fluke, but I want to confirm.”

Akimoto looks at him with an uncomfortable expression.

He gives her a sincere, gentle smile. “I know it’s a weird thing for me to ask and I can see you aren’t comfortable given that I am a stranger, but please. It’s important for our family. I promise I won’t try anything. And if I do,” He winks at her, “feel free to cause whatever kind of pain you wish upon me.”

Yuki then says, “Saying that somehow makes it creepier.”

Akimoto realizes that these guys did for sure see her body glow. Does that mean she automatically failed the test? That wouldn’t be fair. Taiitsukun knew the situation and how she didn’t even tell her the rules of the test until after the test had started. These three knowing this one detail must have been okay…somehow.

She grimaces.

Shigure did say that this was important for their family…

Akimoto looks over again at Kyo. She blushes as they make eye contact. Kyo merely scowls. Akimoto immediately looks back at Shigure. She sighs and then closes her eyes.

After a few seconds, Akimoto’s body begins to glow with its usual circular silver markings.

Shigure smiles and then slowly embraces Akimoto; he holds her gently. Akimoto’s body is stiff as she keeps her arms to her sides.

Yuki and Kyo look at the situation in silence, not sure what to think as it was appearing as if Shigure’s suspicion was correct. He was staying in human form and not turning.

Yuki thinks to himself that maybe this girl could be the cure that they were waiting for!

After a minute or so, Shigure tells Akimoto that she can stop glowing now. Akimoto complies. Immediately after the glowing stops, the yellow smoke emerges from Shigure. Once the smoke clears, all that can be seen are Shigure’s clothes, and a dark-colored dog in the middle of them, staring up at Akimoto.

Shigure the dog thanks Akimoto.

Akimoto notes that they can speak in their animal forms.

Akimoto asks if the entire Sohma family turns into animals. Yuki tells her that it’s only thirteen members of their family that can; him included. They all turn into one animal from the Chinese zodiac. Akimoto thinks about this and how Kyo turns into a cat. There’s no cat in the Chinese zodiac. What’s up with that? She decided not to pry and kept this question to herself.

Yuki tells her that it’s a curse that’s been passed down in their family for generations.

A curse? Akimoto wonders.

Kyo begins to berate Yuki and Shigure for letting this random girl into their family’s business. Yeah, she saw what she saw with him, but did they really think some people on the street would have believed her? She could have hallucinated the whole thing. Heck, they could have called the cops on her for breaking and entering.

Shigure tells Kyo that she technically didn’t “break in.” She just appeared.

Kyo tells them, “Yeah, she’s clearly got her own thing going on, and I don’t want to mess with it. We’ve got enough problems than to let this…whatever she is into our lives. I promise to forget what I saw today if she will.” He looks over at Akimoto. “Does that sound good to you?”

When Kyo addressed her, Akimoto blushed some more. She looked away from him and sheepishly said, “Y-yeah…”

Shigure cheerily says, “Nonsense! She’s obviously not from around here and needs a place to stay. We have an extra room, so why not let her be our new roommate? It’s not like we have anything else to hide, right?”

Yuki and Kyo collectively say “WHAT?!”

Yuki considers this an irresponsible idea.

Akimoto agrees with them. She says, “Kyo’s right. We both have our own situations to deal with and…me being here would just be a mess. I’ll find someplace else to stay.”

Shigure then says, “None of you really understand the weight of things right now. Akimoto knows our family secret and we know her secret; at least, part of her secret. We all have sensitive information about each other. To let the other go into the world unchecked would be the actual irresponsible move.”

Akimoto glares at Shigure.

He goes on to say, “Yes, I can tell that you want to keep that glowing part of you a secret. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so quiet or hesitant about it. We only want to make sure that you don’t tell anyone about our curse. Then again…” Shigure sighs. “Even if I say that, you still have more power in this relationship. Your glowing is something you can choose to do, whereas we don’t have a choice when the circumstances for our curse to activate arises. You could expose us at any time, and we would be powerless to stop you. So, what I guess I’m saying is,” He bows his head to Akimoto, “please stay with us. At least until we can figure out how to make this situation less messy. I’m sorry to ask you to do something you clearly don’t want to do, but please.”

Akimoto looks down at the dog Shigure bowing his head to her. She knew she could keep their secret as long as need be, but clearly, they would have been distressed knowing this stranger knew this sensitive truth.

Akimoto asks, “It’ll be less of a burden to you if I stayed?”

Shigure tells her yes.

Akimoto sighs deeply. “Okay. I’ll stay, for now.” She bows her head down to him. “Thank you for giving me shelter.”

Shigure smiles and wags his tail. Just then, that familiar puff of golden smoke appears. Akimoto knew to instantly turn away from Shigure.

In his naked human form, Shigure nervously laughs and smiles. He apologizes for the sudden transformation. Kyo yells at him to just get dressed.

Shigure asks Yuki to escort Akimoto to the upstairs guest room.

Yuki sighs. “I guess there’s no helping it.” He smiles sweetly at Akimoto. “Follow me, Miss Tsubaki.”

Akimoto follows Yuki upstairs.

As Shigure gets dressed, Kyo tells Shigure that he better know what he’s doing about her.

Shigure smiles over at Kyo. “It’ll only last a short while. Once Hatori is done with her, there won’t be an issue anymore. It’s a shame, though. She has a special ability. Buuut…I have a feeling Akito won’t be too into it. It really is a shame. Tell me Kyo, how did it feel to have a young lady in your lap and not turn into a cat?”

Kyo only responded with “Whatever.”

“I think you’d also be interested to know that she has taken a liking to you.”

“What?”

“It’s so obvious with how she looks at you. I think our guest may have a little crush on our resident feline.”

“Tch.” Kyo scowls and folds his arms. He looks away from Shigure. “I couldn’t care less. She doesn’t know anything about me. Anything she might feel is superficial at best.”

Shigure chuckles. “Most spontaneous crushes are superficial, Kyo. It’s what can become of them that make them so entertaining.”

“Ain’t nothing gonna come from it you creepy dog.” Kyo walks away.

Meanwhile, after showing her where the bathroom is, Yuki is showing Akimoto her new room. He tells her to get comfortable and to let him know if she needs anything.

Akimoto thanks him. Yuki leaves her, closing her door behind him.

Akimoto looks around the room. It was pretty bare, only having the essentials of a desk with a lamp and a bed with comforter. Even so, this was the most modern bedroom she had seen in months. Everything is so advanced compared to that of Feudal Era Japan. She thought of how her, Inuyasha, and Shippo often had to either sleep outside or in some shoddy shack.

It wasn’t that bad, though. She had gotten used to it. She didn’t mind…when it was with them.

Akimoto’s lip began to tremble as tears welled up in her eyes. Her teeth clenched as she tried to keep the tears away. She thought she was done crying over this, but...

_Inuyasha, Shippo…I already miss you!_

Falling onto the bed, Akimoto began to cry into the pillow. She tried to keep her cries quiet but found it hard to do so.

Kyo wandered upstairs, curious about how this strange girl was dealing with her knew situation. After hearing some soft sobs, he quietly approached her door, listening to what was happening inside. He heard her crying.

He began to wonder, “Why is she…?”

Just then, Kyo was spontaneously hit with an invisible wave of negative energy. He felt anger welling up inside of him, ready to burst.

He slammed the door open and barges into her room, unannounced. Akimoto looks up at him from her pillow. “Kyo? What—” Seeing the anger on his face and given how she was just crying, she understood what was happening. “Oh no.”

With incredible speed, Kyo rushes over to Akimoto and grabs her by her collar, headbutting her. She winces from the pain and is a bit disoriented.

“Why the heck’re you cryin’?! You’re the one who came into our house uninvited and now you want us to show you sympathy?!” He forcefully throws her into the desk. She slides down, reeling from the pain.

“Kyo…I—”

“I ain’t hearin’ it!” Kyo rushes over to kick her in her side at the ribs. “You’re only here to make things even worse for us! You think we don’t already have it bad enough?! We don’t want you here!” He goes in to kick her again, but this time, Akimoto rolls away quickly.

She jumps up to her feet while holding her side and runs out of the room. Kyo swiftly pursues her.

Akimoto runs down the hallway, trying to get distance between them. _If I can get far enough away, my darkness won’t affect him anymore!_

When Akimoto reaches the stairs, she trips on her feet, face forward. She begins to fall down the stairs, but Yuki shows up, his arms outstretched to catch her. He yells at her to glow. Akimoto understands and makes her body glow. She lands in Yuki’s arms, the momentum making him fall backwards. He asks if she’s okay. Akimoto just looks up the stairs as she hears Kyo coming.

Kyo yells down at Yuki, “You useless rat! Outta my way before I kill you too!”

Yuki’s teeth clench as he looks at Kyo in concern. “What’s gotten into him?”

Kyo runs down the stairs, ready to attack them, but, out of nowhere, Shigure apprehends Kyo and pins him to the ground.

Kyo tries to struggle free, but he cannot.

“Kyo! You must calm down. Why are you doing this?!” Shigure demands.

Kyo growls. “Get rid of her! Get rid of her now!”

Akimoto looks at him in horror.

Yuki tells her that Kyo’s not usually like this.

Akimoto thinks, _this is all because I was sad. My negative emotions did this._ She closes her eyes and tries to think about things other than Inuyasha and Shippo and how she had to leave them.

Slowly, but surely, Kyo began to calm down. He stopped struggling.

He blinks. “Why…did I do that?”

Shigure asks, “Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, yeah. Now get offa me.”

Shigure complies and lets Kyo sit up.

Meanwhile, Yuki helps Akimoto stand up as Akimoto makes herself stop glowing. She thanks him for catching her.

Yuki asks, “Are you alright?”

Akimoto holds her side and winces. “I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse injuries than this.” _I should have been more careful. I somehow forgot about my darkness. I screwed up! I deserve this pain for being so complacent._

Kyo looks at Akimoto. He sees her holding her side in pain as well as remembering how hard her headbutted her.

He’s stricken with guilt. “I…I don’t know why I…I mean…I’m sorry.” Kyo then turns away from them and runs out of the house. Akimoto looks in his direction with concern.

Shigure tells her that he’ll be back. He just needs to clear his head of whatever that was.

Akimoto looks down at the ground in guilt. Shigure notices.

She thinks to herself. _I have a responsibility to the people around me. I can’t get sad or depressed. I have to push away these feelings if I want to do—if I want to_ be _good._

_Or else… I’ll just continue to cause pain._

_I’m so sorry…Kyo._


	2. The Voice of My Doctor

Hatori Sohma, the personal family doctor, had come over to Shigure’s household the morning after Akimoto had arrived. He was called in to check on the wounds that Kyo had given her and to make sure that there was no serious injury. Throughout most of the checkup, Kyo had hidden himself away as to not have to interact with anyone, especially Akimoto. However, during the latter parts, he hid himself around a corner so that no one could see him. He listened in on what was being discussed.

After looking her over, Hatori tells Akimoto that her forehead and side are a bit bruised up, but there doesn’t seem to be any permanent head injury or broken bones. She’s just a bit bruised up and the bruises should disappear in about two weeks or so. Shigure comments on how fortunate it is that Akimoto has long, thick bangs to cover the bruise on her head. Akimoto, in response, sheepishly fixes her bangs to their usual state after the checkup had finished. Akimoto knew that Kyo felt guilty from what he’d done, given his insistence on staying away from her. She was grateful that the injuries weren’t serious, otherwise he’d feel even worse. She then wished that she could tell them all what was going on and why Kyo acted the way he did, but Taiitsukun said she couldn’t reveal any more of her magical side than she had already shown.

She sighed.

Shigure thanks Hatori for coming on such short notice. Hatori tells him that he didn’t have any clients that morning, so it was no big deal. He also says he also wanted to check in on Kyo. It wasn’t like him to lash out at a random stranger like that for no reason. His violent tendencies were usually only aimed at Yuki, after all. Shigure tells Hatori that no other incident had happened since that random fit. But then again, Kyo had been hiding himself, so who knows.

Hatori says, “People who are well do not just snap like that. I really should look him over—”

“Wait!” Akimoto speaks up. Hatori stops. “It wasn’t Kyo’s fault. It was mine.”

“Did you say something to upset him? Or perhaps…you threatened him?”

“No, it’s nothing like that I…” Akimoto looked down and away. “I just have a tendency to bring out the worst in people. Very often, people just have negative reactions to me without reason. If I weren’t around, Kyo wouldn’t have done that. So please, don’t think that anything is wrong with him. It’s me…there’s something wrong with me.”

Kyo hears this from his hiding spot and his eyes widen a bit in surprise.

Hatori turns to Akimoto. “It’s noble of you to try to take the blame in this situation, but if you didn’t say or do anything to him, then there is no logical reason for him to attack you.”

Akimoto continues to look down. _But there IS a reason…_ She tries to change the subject. “If you’re a Sohma, does that mean that you can turn into an animal too?”

This catches Hatori by surprise. “You…you know about us?” He looks over at Shigure with a disapproving glare. “Explain.”

Shigure nervously chuckles. “I may have skipped over that detail when I called you up. But to be fair, I don’t think that a phone call would have been the most appropriate means of telling you such sensitive information.”

Hatori calls Shigure an idiot.

Shigure asks if Hatori could “fix” this situation at all. Hatori sighs.

Akimoto asks, “Fix?”

Shigure tries to gently explain to Akimoto how dangerous it is for her to know their family secret. And that it would probably be best if she forgot about it. Hatori here can help with that.

Akimoto says, “Erase my memory? You have memory based magic here, too?”

Hatori tells her that it isn’t magic. “It’s a very special type of hypnosis passed down in our family for generations.”

Shigure cheerily says, “Hatori here is the only one in the family who can perform it! Cool, huh?”

Akimoto is unsure how to feel about this. “Erase my memory…I don’t know if I want that. Actually…” She looks at them both with her poker face and confidently says, “I don’t want that. I have a right to remember. I’m not a fan of you guys knowing my secret, but I wouldn’t tell you to erase your memory. That would be too intrusive.”

“Buuut….” Shigure begins to say in a sly voice, “Hatori could wipe our memories too so that we forget what we saw last night. It’s a win-win situation for both parties!”

Akimoto continues to look at them.

Hatori speaks. “Shigure, you’re not going to get anywhere if you insist on being so nice about things. Here’s the situation, Miss Tsubaki: The curse we have to deal with is a lot more involved and complex than you realize. We suffer because of what we have to deal with, and we’re not interested in outsiders making matters even more complicated. I’m sure you’re a decent enough girl, but you actually _do not_ have a right to this information. We don’t know you. We don’t trust you. At the moment, you are a liability and if by some astronomical chance that you were in fact the reason why Kyo lashed out last night, then that’s more of a reason for you to forget and leave. By your conversation, I can see that Shigure and perhaps the other two have a secret of yours kept with them as well. If that’s the case, then I will make them forget as well.”

Akimoto continues to watch him with an intense gaze.

He speaks more gently. “I understand your concerns, I really do. It seems immoral to tamper at something so personal as memory is. But I assure you, it’s for a good cause. And I promise to only take away the memories pertaining to our family and the curse. So please…” He gives Akimoto a slight bow. “Please let me do this.”

Shigure bowed to her as well.

Akimoto watches him bow. Her poker face is still on display, but inwardly, she is conflicted. This whole thing didn’t seem right to her. Even if memories were bad or unwanted, they’re a piece of who she was. There were plenty of events she wished she didn’t have to live through, but the fact is she did. To deny them or toss them away just seems like it would leave her empty somehow, or like a piece of her was missing. Yeah, the Sohma family curse was none of her business, but Taiitsukun purposefully dropped her in their home. She knew that Taiitsukun did that on purpose, so there must have been a reason for her to be there. Had Taiitsukun left Akimoto with some random, normal family, that wouldn’t have meant much. But she left her with a family who was cursed. Being cursed in this world was not a common phenomenon (supposedly), so there was definite purpose in her assignment.

Then again…

If this family has honestly been through so much because of their curse, then Akimoto didn’t want to make them suffer anymore. Besides, with her darkness in their lives, that’s a recipe for disaster.

Just this once.

Akimoto agrees to have her memory wiped.

Shigure breathes a sigh of relief. Hatori gives Akimoto a small smile and thanks her. Shigure then tells Akimoto that he will allow her to stay in their home for a little while after she forgets, and they’ll work on finding her someplace else to stay. Akimoto thanks them but says there’s no need for that. She’ll be fine on her own.

Hatori tells them they’ll discuss specifics after the procedure is done. He then tells her to face him as she sits. She complies. They make eye contact.

Hatori begins the process.

The suddenly, he’s stopped when he hears an unfamiliar voice.

“Do not go through with it.”

It was Taiitsukun. She slowly floated over to Hatori. Hatori, a bit freaked out from seeing a random old woman levitating, looked around at Akimoto and Shigure. They weren’t reacting to her at all. In fact, they were completely frozen in place! He tried to talk to and interact with them, but they wouldn’t budge.

“What’s going on? Who are you and what did you do to them?” Hatori demanded of the old woman.

“Do not be afraid. They’re fine. Time just momentarily stopped for them so that you and I can have a chance to chat.”

“Stop time?” He watched the old woman carefully. “That’s impossible. No one can do such a thing.”

“Says the man who can turn into a seahorse who comes from a family of others who can turn into animals. Try explaining _that_ to me in a scientific manner.” This made Hatori quiet. “I thought so.”

“What do you want with me?”

“I want you to keep young Akimoto’s memory intact. She’s an important player in a plan too big for you to fathom and I need her to remember your family curse for the sake of her development.”  
  
  


“I don’t care how important she is, just keep our family out of it!”

“Trust me, if you erase her memory and extract her from your lives, your family will not be excused from the kind of suffering that will befall literally everyone. Therefore, I think you’ll want to hear me out on this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll show you.”

After a little while, time unfreezes and Akimoto and Shigure “wake up.” Taiitsukun is no longer around. Hatori is once again looking at Akimoto as he had done before, but this time, he seemed unnerved about something.

Shigure asks Hatori if something was wrong. Hatori thinks about something for a few moments without saying anything. Akimoto asks if he’s okay.

After a few more seconds, he finally says, “I can’t erase her memory.”

From his hiding spot, Kyo’s eyes widen in surprise. He clenches his teeth.

Akimoto’s eyes also momentarily widen in surprise. _Why the sudden change of heart?_

Shigure is visibly shocked. “WHAT? How do you even know? You didn’t do anything yet!”

Hatori says, “I can just tell.”

Shigure looks at him with skepticism. “You’re a bad liar. What really going on?” He gasps. “Don’t tell me that you’ve acquired a forbidden affection towards this teenage girl and you secretly want her to be all yours—”

Hatori gives Shigure the most intense glare. It was so intense that it shut Shigure up.

Shigure cleared his throat. “It was just a joke. But really,” His tone became more serious, “why can’t you do it? You know what could happen…”  
  
  


Hatori says, “Then let me rephrase: I _won’t_ do it. Miss Tsubaki will keep her memory.”

“Okay, but why?”

Hatori merely looks away.

Akimoto tries to figure out how someone who was so adamant about this could just change his mind out of nowhere. This kind of heel-turn was almost like—

Akimoto thought of something.

She asks Hatori, “Did you somehow talk to Taiitsukun?”

Shigure asks, “Who’s Taiitsukun?”

Hatori continues to look away in silence.

Akimoto frowns. “You did.” She remembers how Kaede suddenly let her out of house arrest back when her journey first started. It was because Taiitsukun talked to her about something. Akimoto didn’t know when Taiitsukun would have had the opportunity to talk to Hatori, but it seemed pretty on-brand for her. “That must mean that you know about me—what I can do.”

Hatori does not respond to Akimoto’s statement. He just stands up and gathers up his things.

Shigure, in concern, says Hatori’s name.

Hatori speaks to Akimoto. “Take care of yourself and don’t do anything reckless.”

Akimoto makes eye contact with Hatori and the two look at each other intensely.

Shigure shifts between looking at both of them and is confused. “What is going on here?” He then settles on looking at Hatori. “If you won’t erase her memory, then that means…”

“Yes, I will have to let Akito know that she knows about the curse and that she’s staying here.”

This statement seemed to trouble Shigure a bit. “I guess there’s no helping it, huh?”

Akimoto asks, “Who’s Akito?”

Shigure smiles at her and says, “He’s the head of our family. He of course likes to stay in the loop when things happen in the family. It wouldn’t be very becoming of us to keep you a secret from him.” Akimoto frowns. Shigure winks at her. “He won’t know about _your_ secret; only that’re staying with us and that you’re aware about our curse.”

Akimoto asks, “Is…he going to do anything when he finds out?”

With an unsteady voice, Shigure says that things will probably be fine. Shigure then asks Hatori what he’s going to tell Akito about the memory erasing thing. Hatori says that he’ll just tell him that Akimoto had some sort of mental block that made it impossible to do the deed.

“And you think he’ll believe that?”

“Who’s to say?” Hatori says. “Don’t worry about Akito. I’ll take care of it.”

Hatori says his goodbyes. Akimoto thanks him for making sure she’s alright. He nods in acknowledgement and then leaves.

Shigure smiles over at Akimoto. “So, I guess you’re staying for the long-haul! Things are sure to get exciting around here!”

“You’re not upset about all of this?”

“Nah, it’s not worth being upset. Sometimes life just throws you curveballs. It doesn’t help to get upset about them. You just change your way of doing things, or even your way of thinking, and you adapt. Besides, it’ll be nice to have such a pleasant lady to be around!”

Akimoto gives him a skeptical look before saying, “If you have a tent, I can always stay out of the way in the backyard or something. I just—”

“Absolutely not! I will not allow a lady to expose herself to the elements when we have a perfectly functional extra room for you. I’m a gentleman, after all, and I must treat you right.”

She gives him another skeptical look then says, “But what about Kyo? He’s obviously uncomfortable being around me. And what happened last night could always happen again.”

Kyo listens more intently. His eyes narrow as he clenches his fists.

“Are you scared of what he might do? Don’t worry, Yuki and I will keep him in check. Though I really think it was just some freak thing—”

“I’m not worried about what Kyo can do to me. I’m worried about what I might do to Kyo.”

Kyo’s eyes widen in surprise.

“I…I don’t want him to have to suffer that kind of rage again. And I definitely don’t want guilt to hover over him the entire time that I’m here. It’s my fault Kyo is hiding away…”

Shigure tries to wave it off. “Kyo is always moody. Believe me, he sulked around the house before you got here. And it’s not like he ever went out of the way to hang out with us, so…don’t worry about his behavior too much. He’ll be fine.”

Akimoto begins to speak, “But—”

“WHO THE HECK’RE YOU CALLIN’ MOODY?!” Kyo yells out as he jumps out of his hiding spot. “And don’t go tellin’ people that I sulk!”

Shigure gives him a smug look. “Look who the cat dragged in; himself!” Shigure grinned.

Kyo growled.

When Akimoto saw Kyo, her face began to heat up again. She stared at him.

When he caught her gaze, she instantly looked away. _What the heck is wrong with me?_ She asked herself. _Why does my face get all warm whenever I see him? And why do I care so much when we make eye contact? And why is my stomach acting weird?_ She grimaces.

“Guess what Kyo?” Shigure told Kyo. “Akimoto is going to continue staying with us! Isn’t that great?”

Kyo looked at Akimoto, who was still turned away from him, and frowned. “I don’t know if I’d call that ‘great,’ but whatever. I guess there’s no helping it.”

Shigure gives Kyo another smug look. “So how long were you spying on us?”

Kyo yells while blushing a little, “I wasn’t spying! I was just passing by! I live in this house too, ya know.”

Shigure smiles. “If you say so.”

Kyo gives Shigure the stink-eye.

Akimoto then speaks up, though her back is still to Kyo. “I’m sorry.”

Kyo looks at her.

“I’m sorry about what happened last night.”

Kyo frowns and looks away.

She continues. “It wasn’t your fault, Kyo. I know you don’t believe me, but…I don’t blame you at all. I understand if you want to keep your distance.”

“Tch.” Kyo continues to look away. “If you’re gonna live here, I can’t avoid you forever. So, I ain’t hiding. Doesn’t mean we gotta hang out or be friends. I don’t even have to speak to you. I’m just not gonna hide.”

His saying that made Akimoto feel weird, as if something sank in her stomach. She didn’t understand what that feeling was. She had been rejected by people before, so why did this feel a bit different?

Shigure then says, “Kyo, I am always astounded by how nice you are. I can see why so many girls are throwing themselves at you.”

Kyo raises his voice at Shigure. “Back off!”

“I understand,” Akimoto says.

Kyo calms down and looks at her.

“We don’t need to talk or interact or anything. I’ll back off, if it makes you more comfortable.”

Kyo just looks away with a scowl.

Shigure looks at the both of them. After a few seconds, he says, “Well! I guess we’ll see how all of this works out, huh?”

Akimoto and Kyo are silent.

Shigure continues to talk. “By the way, Akimoto? Now that you’re staying, you’re going to have to attend school.”

Akimoto quickly turns her head to Shigure. “What?”

Many hours later, Hatori is seen entering a large housing property. He meets with the head of the Sohmas, a skinny young man with an elegant air about him named Akito. He tells Akito about Akimoto but leaves out the detail about Kyo attacking her.

Akito is upset that Hatori “could” not erase her memories.

“You obviously didn’t try hard enough. Now go back to that house and try again.”

Hatori tries to explain that he tried multiple times, but to no avail. Akimoto’s memories could not be altered.

Visible anger and frustration could be seen on Akito’s face. After a few moments, he takes a deep breath and exhales heavily. He regains his composure and then smiles insincerely to Hatori.

“Everything will be fine. We’ll keep a close eye on this Akimoto Tsubaki. And…where did you say she came from?”

“I didn’t. She just appeared spontaneously to their home last night. As far as I can tell, we don’t know much about her. She seems harmless, though.”

Akito’s eyes narrow as he continues smiling. “I’ll be the judge of that. And I’ll see to it that she doesn’t over-step any boundaries.”

After a few moments of silence, Hatori asks, “Are we done here?”

Akito dismisses Hatori. Hatori leaves.

Akito stands looking out a window with an intense expression.

_Just who are you Akimoto Tsubaki? And what do you want with my family?_


	3. The Trouble With Girls

"My name is Kagura Sohma. It's so nice to meet you!"

It was a bright afternoon at the Sohma household. Another member of the Sohma family, Kagura, a girl who looked around Akimoto's age, had shown up and introduced herself to her. Kagura seemed nice as she extended her hand out to Akimoto with a cheery smile.

Akimoto stared at Kagura's hand, not knowing what to expect. But after a moment, decided to oblige and shook it.

"I'm Akimoto Tsubaki. Likewise."

In a flashback, we see Shigure calling Kagura who lived over at the main Sohma household. He called to explain some of the situation with Akimoto; mainly that she knew their family secret and had nowhere else to go. When Kagura asked how a stranger found out, Shigure politely asked her to not ask too many questions about the situation since there are things that he isn't able to say. What he does tell her is that Akimoto seems like a nice girl, but is a bit lost in a sense and more than a little troubled.

"So you want a strange girl with a mysterious backstory and issues living there with you guys? Are you sure that's okay?" She then spoke quieter so no one in the house could hear. "Does Akito know about her?"

Shigure confirms that Akito has been made aware of her.

"What about erasing her memory?"

"That's a negative. Can't be done!"

"Why not?"

"Who knows?!" He said enthusiastically.

"Hmm..." Kagura thought about things for a moment. Then she realized something. "Wait! If that girl is staying there with you all then that means that...SHE'S LIVING WITH KYO AS WELL?!"

"Yup!"

Kagura's body started to vibrate from a combination of frustration, excitement, and passion. "I'll be right over!"

"And if you would, please bring a change of clothes for the girl. She has nothing suitable to wear. Thank—"

Kagura immediately hung up the phone and made a mad dash towards her family's quarters.

We exit the flashback and, at present, Kagura and Akimoto are still shaking hands. Kagura releases her hands and hands a shopping bag to Akimoto.

"I brought some extra clothes for you! I wasn't sure what size you were, so I borrowed some of my mom's. She won't mind."

"Oh..." Akimoto looks at the bag. "Thanks, but that's not necessary. I don't want you to go out of your way—"

"Technically, the deed's already been done. So, no worries! Besides," Kagura looked at Akimoto's priestess garb. "You look like you came out of the Edo period or something. I can't have you going out looking like that. What kind of friend would I be?"

Akimoto thought to herself. _Friend?_

Kagura smiled. "But if you're concerned about it, how about you and I have some girl time and go shopping? That way you have clothes of your own and I can take these back to my mom. How does that sound?"

Before Akimoto could say anything, Shigure clapped his hands and noted how that would be a wonderful idea. And this would give Akimoto a chance to see a part of the town before she started school next week.

Kagura looked confused. "School? She's going to school? But I thought she...? Where's she gonna go?"

Shigure tells her that she'll be attending school with Yuki and Kyo. "Can't have her doing nothing around here all day. Might as well exercise her mind amongst her peers!"

Kagura gave a loud, scary, "WHAT?! She's going to be with Kyo _all_ day?!"

Akimoto detected the change in her voice and wondered what was wrong.

Shigure shook his head.

Akimoto chimed in. "My education level matches that of a third-year student. So, I won't be near Yuki or Kyo."

After processing what she heard, Kagura calmed down and sighed. "I see." She sweetly smiled again. "It's too bad you aren't one year older. You could have attended my college and we could've hung out all the time!" She hummed a little bit as she looked off to the side. Then she spoke up again. "Anyways...now that we're on the topic, is Kyo home?"

Shigure tells her that he is and that he's up in his room.

"Great!" She cheerily said. "If you two will just excuse me for one sec, I would like to go say hi to my darling."

 _Darling?_ Akimoto thought. _Are Kyo and Kagura...together?_

Kagura took a leisurely stroll up the stairs and disappeared. Shigure and Akimoto listened for any audible sound from up there.

Suddenly, there was a loud ruckus as yells and stomps could be heard from above. The house even began to shake a little.

"Leave me alone! Get away from me!" Kyo could be heard shouting.

"Why haven't you called me? Or Texted me? Or come to see me? I came to visit you, so be grateful!" Kagura shouted back.

"Why don't you take a hint?! I was stayin' away on purpose!"

Akimoto listened with a mildly concerned look on her face. Shigure gives her a reassuring smile. "No need to worry about that. This reaction is typical."

Akimoto thought, _Does that make it okay?_

Kyo could then be seen jumping off the roof from the second floor and onto the ground outside. He begins to run away. Kagura follows him, landing skillfully onto the ground. She then takes out some kitchen knives and throws them towards Kyo. The knives instantly pin the edges of his clothes to a tree; his skin is unscathed, but he is trapped.

Akimoto takes a step forward, ready to defend.

Shigure wonders out loud, "I wonder if those are our knives..."

Akimoto looks at him with disbelief. "Isn't Kyo in danger?!"

Shigure chuckles. "Depends on what you mean by 'danger.'"

Akimoto frowns deeply.

"Relax. He'll be fine."

Kyo wiggles and tries to twist and struggle away, but the knives had his clothes pinned awfully well.

"Darn it Kagura! Enough already! Let me down!"

Kagura gives him an innocent look. "All I want to do is spend some time with my beloved fiancé..."

"F-Fiancé?" Akimoto asks out loud. And when she heard that, she felt as if some force kicked her deep in her gut. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. _Why do I feel like this?_

"I'm not your fiancé! You threatened me at knife-point when we were kids to propose to you. You can't honestly think that I meant that! Let it go already!"

She smiled at him while holding up another knife. "A proposal is almost just as binding as a marriage, my dear. It wouldn't be very polite to take it back. Besides, I know you love me. And you know how much I love you!"

Kyo ignores her and looks away.

"Or..." Kagura thought, "Have you forgotten your love for me after a new woman has entered into your life?" She points over at Akimoto. "Is that what happened?!"

"What?" Akimoto asked. _She was acting so friendly before. Was it all a lie?_

"Get over yourself Kagura. That girl has nothing to do with me or you. I couldn't care less about her, so get that out of your head. I just don't wanna marry you!"

That was another kick to Akimoto's gut. Her stoic expression became a bit sad. Then she caught herself. _Wait...why does that make me sad? Why do I care? I don't even know this guy!_

"Hmm..." Kagura calmed down a bit. "I guess it doesn't really make sense for you to latch onto some stranger. It's not really your style. Alright Kyo: I will choose to believe you. After all, a good relationship is built on trust."

"There is no relationship you psycho."

She ignored that statement. "Maybe...I should live here with all of you! That way you and I can become closer and you won't be tempted by someone else!"

"Heck no! Go back to your own home!" Kyo shouted.

Shigure interjected as he placed a hand on Kagura's shoulder. "Hey Kagura, do you mind taking Akimoto out now on that shopping spree? She really needs her own clothes and there's no time like the present!"

After looking at Kyo and thinking for a few seconds, she perked up. "Sure! That sounds like fun." She smiled over at Akimoto. "Go get dressed and I'll take you out, okay?"

 _She went back to being sweet right on a dime! Now I can't tell if she's faking or not. She knows I saw everything that just happened, so what gives?_ Akimoto tried to figure out what was happening.

Shigure looks at Akimoto. "Go on ahead! The faster you get ready, the sooner you can have fun!"

"Umm..." Akimoto began to speak.

Kagura cheerily skipped over to Akimoto and hooked her arm around Akimoto's. She pulled her in close.

"Wait! What are you doing? Aren't you going to transform?" Akimoto asked in alarm. "Unless you aren't cursed...?"

Kagura continued to smile. "Oh, I'm cursed alright! But that whole thing doesn't get activated unless the full body contact is with a member of the opposite sex. Oh! And another fun fact is that cursed Sohmas, regardless of if they're a girl or boy, can hug each other! So Kyo and I could hug all day if we wanted to!" She looks over at Kyo, who is still stuck to the tree. "Isn't that right, sweetie?"

"Let me down from this tree already!" Kyo shouted.

 _Kyo and Kagura can hug each other. Hmm..._ Akimoto thought to herself. _It really looks like he doesn't like her, though. I wonder...what's up with the two of them?_

"Don't mind him. Are you ready to go, Aki?"

Akimoto looked at her.

"Pfft. Of course, you aren't ready yet! Where's my head? You need to get dressed first. Come on!" She began to push Akimoto inside and up the stairs. "I'll help you pick something out to wear! I promise it'll look good on you!"

Akimoto resisted a bit, but ultimately let her be taken upstairs. _What in the world is going on here?_

Sometime later, Akimoto and Kagura are out in town walking along the sidewalk. Kagura's arm is still hooked around Akimoto's as they walk. Akimoto is a bit uncomfortable from the close proximity of what seems like an unstable stranger, but she manages to keep her cool and her stoic expression. She tries to think about other things such as how she's been brought to such a modern society. This world was very similar to her own as far as technology went. In fact...the country she was in was even called Japan just as there was a Japan in her world. This was just...a different version of it. Like how in the Feudal Era, she was in Japan, only in the distant past...and dimension. The difference with this modern world compared to hers, though, seemed to be that magic existed. Then again, maybe magic did exist in her world too. Perhaps those who could use it were keeping it a secret like she and the Sohmas were. Who's to say?

"So...Aki?"

Akimoto looked over at Kagura.

"Where are you from exactly?"

Akimoto didn't know what to say as she stayed silent. She couldn't tell Kagura the full truth due to the whole "not revealing that she's magical" thing. Akimoto looked away.

Kagura's expression became a bit sad. "Oh...right. It's a secret, huh? Plus, you don't talk much so I guess it's rude of me to expect you to explain yourself. I'm sorry..."

Akimoto felt a little guilty. _I'm the one being rude..._ "I'm...from...I mean, I came from the United States from a state called Oregon." _Hopefully America exists here..._

Kagura's expression lit up. "You're American?"

Akimoto shook her head. "My nationality is Japanese. I've just been temporarily living in America...for the past four years."

"Oh, cool! So why are you—"

"I ran away." Akimoto stops walking. Kagura follows suit. "There were some issues...and so I had to leave. One thing lead to another."

"Huh..." Kagura thought for a moment. "So...how did you end up at Shigure's?"

Akimoto's eyes narrowed and she stayed silent.

Kagura thought to herself, _This must be the complicated subject I'm not allowed to ask about. Well, it was worth a try!_ Kagura pulled Akimoto forward to continue walking. "Come this way! There's a really cute shop with the best clothes. I think you'll like it! With the money Shigure gave us, we should be able to get you a few cute outfits!"  
  


Akimoto remained silent as she looked away.

"Let's see..." Kagura thought of another thing to talk about. "Do you have a boyfriend? Or...a secret boyfriend somewhere? Some American guy you ran away with? Or a Japanese guy you ran to? I want all the juicy details!"

"I've never had a boyfriend before."

Kagura said with a disappointed expression, "Really? That's boring..."

Akimoto asked Kagura if she ever had a boyfriend.

"Weren't you paying attention? Kyo and I are engaged. I don't need to pursue other men when you're already with the love of your life!"

_This girl is actually convinced that she and Kyo are in love. I feel kind of bad for her._

"Spill it, Tsubaki. How come you never had a boyfriend?"

"I've...just never been interested in anyone. I think I just came to conclusion that I'm incapable of feeling those types of feelings."

Kagura gasped. "You've never been in love before?"

Akimoto shook her head.

"You've never even had a crush?"

"Nope."

Kagura stopped walking and unhooked herself from Akimoto's arm. She positioned herself in front of Akimoto and made direct eye contact, staring at her for a few awkward moments. "Hmm..." she'd say as she looked into Akimoto's eyes. "I guess you're telling the truth!" She became cheery. "I guess I have nothing to worry about then! If you're not attracted to Kyo, then there's no problem at all!" She went back to hooking her arm around Akimoto's.

 _I feel bad for both of them. Kagura thinks that Kyo is in love with her and Kyo has to deal with her insistence._ Akimoto began to think about Kyo. Once again, her face began to heat up and her heart rate increased. She shook her head. _What's wrong with me?_

"Alright Aki, here's a different spin on the question. Do you think anyone has ever been into _you_?" She gave a coy grin.

"No one could be interested in me. I'm not the kind of girl guys would want," she said flatly.

"Are you kidding? You could be super cute if you wanted to be. All you gotta do is brush that hair of yours and wear some stylish clothes! You have a nice, curvy body. I _know_ boys are into that. You could get some more sleep to ditch those dark circles under your eyes, but I think they make you look kind of mysterious. I think guys usually go more for girls who are a bit more positive and energetic...but! Your whole quiet and mysterious motif could be a total turn on I'm sure."  
  
Akimoto blinked as she was baffled at Kagura's line of dialogue. "...what?"

"Yeah yeah! And you have such unique and pretty eyes! I've never met someone with red eyes before. Where in your genetics did _that_ come from?"

"I'm one-fourth Native American and one-fourth Irish. I guess the red eyes came from somewhere in there...I don't know..." Akimoto wasn't used to talking about her appearance so much. It made her a bit embarrassed.

"Well, I think you have a lot of potential as far as looks are concerned. You just need to be more confident. Then again, if you aren't into anyone, I guess it doesn't really matter, huh?"

Out of nowhere, a little kid ran into Kagura while she wasn't looking. Apparently, the little boy and his friend were playing some kind of racing game and weren't paying attention to what was ahead of them. The boy's full body made contact with Kagura. In an instant, there was a large golden smokescreen covering the area where Kagura stood. All of the people in the area looked over at the spectacle.

Akimoto gasped. _Oh no! We're out in the open! If people see Kagura when the smoke clears, her animal form will be exposed!_ She began to think. _There's no time. I need to make a distraction!_

Akimoto took out her microphone and her body began to glow. Her magical form was covered by the smokescreen, but not for long. She positioned her wand up to her lips and looked up towards the sky and let out three silver fireballs. When they reached a safe enough distance upwards, she made them explode.

All of the people looked up at the explosion with mixtures of wonder, amazement, and panic. Amongst the chaos, Akimoto put her wand away, turned off the glow, and scooped up Kagura's clothes, hoping Kagura was in the pile or at least ran away. Akimoto ran as fast as she could down the street. When she spotted what looked like a clothing store, she dashed inside, all while trying to keep her cool. She spotted a random outfit and then took it off the rack. In the calmest voice she could muster, she went up to one of the employees and asked for a changing room. The lady showed her which one she could use and Akimoto jumped inside and closed the curtain.

Akimoto breathed hard as she put down the pile of clothes. From within the pile, she could see some rustling. Out burrowed what looked like a baby boar.

The boar spoke in a whisper. "That was some fast thinking, Aki! Thanks." She sighed with relief. "I really owe you one."

Akimoto nodded in acknowledgement. _How have they avoided such accidents from happening in the past? Their secret almost got out in such an easy way!_

"Are you sure no one saw us? And what was that loud sound I heard? It almost sounded like an explosion."

"You're fine. And don't worry about it. What matters is that your secret is safe." Akimoto gave her a small smile.

Kagura thought to herself, _That's the first time I saw her smile!_ She smiled back (well, as much as a boar could smile). "Well, it's going to be a few minutes before I turn back. Why not try some clothes on? I think I recognize this changing area. You somehow ran us right into where I wanted us to be! I guess the universe really wanted this shopping spree to happen!"

"Right..."

Kagura looked at the dress that Akimoto frantically picked up. "Why not try this one?"

Akimoto inspected it. "No...it's not for me."  
  


"Why not? I think it would look great on you!"

Akimoto held the dress in her hands and looked down at it. _I can't wear something like this. It's too pretty. I'd just ruin the look._ Her poker face saddened a bit. "It wouldn't look right on me."

Kagura watched Akimoto's expression change. "You totally want to try, though, right? It could look better than you think!"

Akimoto tightened her grip on the fabric and shook her head. "It won't."

Kagura's expression saddened as well. Just then, a huge puff of golden smoke.

Akimoto began to panic once more. _Not again! I forgot about the smoke! What do I do? It's a lot more obvious in a clothing store. Think. Think!_

Akimoto whispered loudly. "Kagura, close your eyes!"

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me, okay?"

Kagura thought for a moment and then did what she was told.

Akimoto took her wand back out and the glowing symbols on her body returned. Using her power over wind, she created a vacuum of light breezes to pull all of the magical smoke towards her. This seemed to be doing the trick.

Kagura felt the breeze and wanted to look but decided to keep her eyes shut. _There's definitely something up with this girl. First those sounds of explosions and now a weird breeze from nowhere? I want to look...but if I do, what will I be pulled into?_

Once all of the smoke was cleared, Akimoto tucked her microphone away and made the glowing symbols disappear.

Akimoto turned away from Kagura, who was naked, and told her, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Kagura did so and was amazed to see all the smoke gone so quickly. She looked over at Akimoto. _Who...is this girl?_ She then inhaled and then exhaled. She smiled. "Thanks for...whatever that was. How about I get dressed in here and you go look for something you're willing to wear, okay?"

Akimoto nodded and then discreetly exited the changing room.

Kagura's smile faded a bit. _Shigure...where did you find this girl? Where did she come from?_ She thought about the day's events. _But...she is nice...like you said she was. And she really helped me—she helped keep our family secret. She can't be bad._

Some time goes by and Akimoto and Kagura do some shopping. Akimoto eventually settles on a few outfits. One is notably a white tank top with short jean shorts as she wears a green open sweater (the same color as the priestess pants she wore from Inuyasha's world) that goes down to her knees. Kagura gave Akimoto her seal of approval with a smile and thumbs up. Akimoto blushes and looks away.

During sunset, they make their way back to Shigure's house. On the way there, they talk.

Kagura asks, "Are you excited to be starting school?"

"Not really. But if it's more convenient for everyone that I go, then I'll just go."

"I think you'll be fine. Make sure you get yourself some friends within the first few days. That way you'll have someone to look out for you and show you around."

Akimoto dismissed this statement. "Uh-huh..."

Kagura winked at her. "And if anyone is rude to you in any way, just call me up and big-sis Kagura will be here to punch their faces in!" Kagura then stops walking. Akimoto stops too to see what's wrong. "But I'm sure you'll be fine. You're a tough one, I can tell. There's just something about you..." She perks up. "In any case, just remember to have fun! School itself can be a bit of a drag, but it's the experience that happen around school that are supposed to be the most memorable. So, make it count!"

Akimoto gives Kagura another small smile before returning to her poker face. _If only you knew what school was like for me...and what I'll be walking into._ Akimoto begins to feel really sad and her anxiety begins to emerge. But she tells herself to push these feelings away as she doesn't want Kagura to be affected by her darkness.

The two of them arrive back at Shigure's house and say their goodbyes.

Akimoto goes up to her room and puts her clothes away. She then looks outside of the window and notices Kagura calmly taking out the knives that were somehow still wedged in the tree that Kyo was trapped against. He had obviously gotten free by some means but left the knifes. Kagura then gathered up the knives and went inside the house.

Akimoto quietly walked down the stairs and heard the sound of running water. Kagura was at the kitchen sink washing the knives with soap and warm water.

Akimoto silently joins her and helps her clean them up and put them away.

Kagura then thanks Akimoto for not making a big deal out of how she acts. She knows that her personality can become violent and intense and can be off-putting, especially to strangers. She's just not always able to control those outbursts. But she's happy that Akimoto wasn't scared away and agreed to spend the day with her.

Akimoto thanks Kagura for taking the time out to help her.

"Let's be friends, okay?" Kagura says to Akimoto.

Akimoto is surprised by the gesture.

"I won't be able to be around as often as I'd like. School keeps me occupied more than I'd like, but you can call me anytime. So, call me, okay?" She smiles at Akimoto.

Akimoto is still surprised and doesn't know what to say. Could she really be friends with someone she just met? It took time for her, Shippo, and Inuyasha to become friends. And those two were aware of Akimoto and her...unfortunate effects. Akimoto couldn't even be completely honest with Kagura. So how would a friendship even work? And would Kagura even stick around her if she became a victim to Akimoto's darkness? Akimoto remembered how badly it affected Kyo.

Akimoto frowned and was about to say something to Kagura when Kagura saw some movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Kyo! Is that you sneaking around?!"

Kyo was, in fact, trying to sneak out the back door, but got caught.

Kagura, in a flash, rushed over to Kyo and punched him really hard on his cheek, shouting, "HOW COULD YOU BE TRYING TO LEAVE BEFORE GIVING ME A GOOD-BYE KISS?!"

Kyo was sent flying across the room. He then got up and tried to get away again. "Just leave already!" He shouted back.

Kagura chased him around the house as well as outside with her lips puckered trying to give him a kiss.

Akimoto watches in concern and bewilderment, not fully knowing what to think about the situation. So, she just watches the scene from afar, ready to jump in if things got too bad.


	4. That's What I Learned in School

Akimoto looks at herself in a mirror. She is wearing the school uniform of the high school that Kyo and Yuki attend. She thinks to herself how it has been a while since she's last had to wear a uniform. For less than two years of middle school, Akimoto wore a school uniform while she still lived in Japan. Memories of her time in the Japanese school system entered into her mind. People were afraid of her and avoided her; maybe giving her mean looks but never doing anything about it. She had Koemi and Sachio around, but they were not a good enough distraction from reality. Even walking with them, Akimoto felt alone and isolated. They were only a part of the noise, not a solution. America did not fare too much better. It was only a matter of time before her darkness made itself known. Rumors of what happened around her spread quickly. No matter the school, it was always the same. And of course, the adults did nothing. What could they do? If Akimoto's darkness wasn't affecting them—making them less inclined to help—then they were completely ignorant to the big picture. After all, her darkness was invisible to the untrained eye. People just spontaneously got angry or sad or fell to the floor. There was no logical explanation for these occurrences. They just "happened" to happen around Akimoto and the people around her. And since most of the other students never tried to confront Akimoto, no one could accuse anyone of foul play or bullying. And even if they did try, the confrontation didn't last very long...

Akimoto sighed. She was not looking forward to this. But if it made the Sohma's more comfortable with her, then so be it.

 _I just have to stay calm,_ she told herself. _If I can stay calm and keep my mind blank, then everything will be fine. No one will get hurt._

Akimoto knew that this was a bad idea. In fact, she could easily run away and survive in the forest somewhere. But for some reason she felt obligated to stay under the Sohma's watchful eye.

When Akimoto went downstairs to meet up with everyone, Shigure immediately noted how cute she looked in her uniform. Akimoto did not react to that. He said the boys will practically be foaming at the mouth to get her number. Akimoto says she doubts that. In all seriousness, Shigure tells Akimoto to keep her head held high and to have confidence—that's the winning combination for a successful first day of school.

"Yeah..." Akimoto says as her eyes trail away from him.

Kyo tells Shigure to stop holding them up. And with that, Kyo, Yuki, and Akimoto walk to school together. Kyo is expectantly silent. The only reason he's even walking with Yuki and Akimoto was because Shigure asked the boys to accompany her to school to make sure she's safe. He did not favor being in close proximity to either of them, so he stayed silent, walking a few feet ahead. Yuki tells Akimoto that he usually has student council duties to attend to in the mornings and would not typically be able to walk with her to school. But since she was a new student, he got permission to escort her. He wanted to personally make sure that she'd get there alright. He also makes a comment about how he wasn't sure if Kyo was reliable enough to guide her, so he definitely had to be here.

"Screw you! Speak for yourself you shady rat!" Kyo yelled back at him.

As they got closer to the school, Akimoto noticed more and more students with the same uniform walking in the same direction. The reality of the situation was donning on her even more. With each new student she saw, her anxiety began to elevate and her breathing increased. It took every bit of power for her to maintain her poker face.

Yuki looked over at her as he was hearing her accelerated breathing. He also noticed that all of the color had drained from her face. Her expression was stoic, but something was definitely wrong.

"Are you alright, Miss Tsubaki?" Yuki asked.

Kyo peeked behind him to see what was up.

Akimoto didn't hear the question. She was too preoccupied noticing how many people there were.

Yuki raised his voice in concern and lightly tugged on her sleeve. "Miss Tsubaki!"

Akimoto blinked at looked over at Yuki. Looking at his worried expression, she guessed what he had been trying to say to her.

"I'm fine." _I'm not even in the building yet! I need to calm down!_

Kyo focused on the path ahead. He scowled. _What the heck is wrong with this girl?_

The three continue to walk. Akimoto tells herself to think of more positive things. If she thinks about her time with Inuyasha and Shippo, then that should be a good enough distraction.

As they walk, Yuki gets recognized by some of the other students, mostly girls. They smile at him and greet him and he reciprocates with a charming smile and comment. They, of course, take notice of Akimoto and ask Yuki if she is his girlfriend. He tells them that they are just friends and how it is her first day at their school. He tells them that she is a transfer student from America and will be attending the third-year classes.

The girls are genuinely nice to Akimoto and greet her. They also seem to take an interest in how she's from abroad. Akimoto greets them as well and tries to answer their questions with the shortest answers possible and without eye contact.

Some of the girls in the group mention how they are also third-year students. They offer to take Akimoto to her homeroom class. Akimoto is unsure if this is a good idea (she doesn't say this out loud). Yuki thinks it is a good idea and encourages Akimoto to go along with them. Akimoto prepares to protest but remembers how Yuki has student council duties. She was technically keeping him from doing those. And Kyo was only here because he was guilted into doing so.

She sighed and agreed to go along with them.

And with that, the group of girls hurriedly rushed Akimoto off to the high school. On the way there, their questions and small talk persisted. Akimoto wasn't used to this type of attention and she also knew that it likely wouldn't last long. Even if by some miracle her darkness didn't interfere, her lack of a cheery or outgoing attitude would make them grow bored of her. In fact, she was mostly convinced they only cared because she was affiliated with Yuki, who was relatively attractive and who seemed to be popular, but also because she came from a far off land and was theoretically more interesting than their usual mundane lives. In any case, they seemed pretty harmless and rather upbeat.

 _I don't want to hurt them._ Akimoto immediately began to think about how they'd be forced to the ground without being able to stand up again or how their faces would look with expressions of rage or extreme sadness; all of them looking at her with judgmental eyes.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She thought about her, Shippo, and Inuyasha relaxing under a large tree on a sunny day.

Crisis averted.

They arrived at the school. It wasn't particularly interesting. Just a typical modern Japanese school. The group of girls ushered Akimoto to the third-year level of the building. Akimoto noticed eyes watching her as she passed. She hated being a new student to a school year that had already been underway. She was immediately singled out as the "different" one. She couldn't help but frown and blush a little as the idea of her being the center of attention entered into her mind. In reality, most of the other students seemed pretty indifferent towards her and only gave her quick curious glances. With the exception of a few "hellos," no one made a big deal about her (except for the entourage she had previously procured).

"Don't you worry, Tsubaki, once everyone hears about how you're from America, they'll immediately want to know more about you!" One of the girls exclaimed.

 _I'm really hoping that doesn't happen,_ Akimoto thought.

Classes soon begun and Akimoto had to go through the awkwardness that is introducing herself to her class.

"My name is Akimoto Tsubaki. I have no preferences about how you refer to me. I am a transfer student from Oregon of the United States of America." She then bows to them. "Please treat me well."

And with that, she was officially a part of the class. Akimoto tried to keep her mind occupied on the thought of her old friends as well as on the lesson being taught. Quite frequently, though, she was reminded of how she was trapped in one building with hundreds of unsuspecting souls for several hours of the day. At one point, she couldn't hold it any longer.

A wave of dark energy pulsated outward from Akimoto causing everyone in the classroom to spontaneously slam their heads down onto their desks while at the same time, the teacher fell to the ground. In a wave of confusion, everyone wondered what just happened. Akimoto's eyes widened as she took a sharp inhale. No one was suspecting her, but this did in fact happen. Some of the student complained about how that hurt their jaws, cheeks, and faces. The teacher wobbly stood up and tried to get the class to settle. He explained how that must have been an earthquake. He asked if everyone was alright. Most of the murmurs claimed that they were generally okay. A couple of the students asked to go see the nurse as the impact gave them headaches.

Meanwhile, Akimoto is stuck in her own head. _That was so stupid! How could I have done that? I was supposed to be in control! Argh! I hate being at school! It's the worst possible place for me. This was a terrible idea. How could I think I could handle this?! I kept Inuyasha and Shippo away from villages specifically because of this. I knew something bad would happen and I came anyway! I'm such an idiot! I hope none of the other classes felt it. But if they didn't, who would believe my class that it was an earthquake?!_

Akimoto grabs her head and leans over her desk.

Once it was confirmed that there was no serious damage, and after the instructor verified that no one else in the building was reacting to the phenomenon, the lesson resumed.

After class, the group of girls who collected Akimoto, along with Akimoto, who was still processing everything, all met up in the hallway.

"Did you guys feel that wicked earthquake? It was so weird."

"My head still hurts. I wish my head wasn't turned so awkwardly beforehand."  
  


  
"What? Earthquake? There was an earthquake? I must have fallen asleep or something because I didn't feel a thing."

"You _would_ say that."

  
  
"Hey! I don't fall asleep _all_ the time!"

They all laugh (except for Akimoto).

"Besides, if an earthquake _did_ happen, don't you think my class would have said or done something about it?"

"Maybe you were _all_ sleeping...?  
  
  
"Shut up!"

One of them turns to Akimoto. "Are you okay, Tsubaki? I noticed you grabbing your head pretty hard in there. You musta hit your head too, huh? Crazy first day, am I right?"

Akimoto was silent. The negative thoughts continued; the world around her was on mute.

"Guys, I think the earthquake really spooked her."

"Tsubaki, do you want me to take you to the nurse?"

"Maybe she needs something to eat! You can have this snack of mine."

"Tsubaki?"

"Tsubaki."

"Tsubaki!"

Eventually, the noise of the world came flooding in.

Another dark pulse left Akimoto's body. This time, the group of girls around her suddenly fell to the ground. They all shrieked and attempted to get up, but couldn't as the gravity pushed them down.

"What's happening? I can't get up!"

"Someone help us!"

For some reason, this only affected that group of girls. Everyone else in the hallway was just fine. However, they all did take note of what was going on and each of them looked concerned. Akimoto was among these girls and she was the only one not pinned to the ground. It looked suspicious. The accusatory and deliberate murmurs began.

Akimoto looked down at the girls with a guilty expression. She tried to turn off her darkness, but for some reason, it wouldn't immediately respond to her demand.

From further down the hallway, a group of three tough-looking third-year boys noticed all the students looking at something. Then they saw it: some red-eyed girl they had never seen before was towering over a group of other girls who appeared to be suffering on the ground.

Akimoto was finally able to release the darkness. The girls were relieved of the extreme gravity.

Just then, one of those tough guys came running up to Akimoto and lifted her up by the collar. He slammed her against the wall.

"What were you doing to them?!" He roared.

Akimoto didn't respond as she was struggling to touch the ground.

He slammed her against the wall again. "Did I stutter?! Answer me! What did you do to them?!"

"Who even are you?" Another one of the boys asked as he and the others helped the girls to stand.

"I..." Akimoto began to speak.

"It doesn't matter who she is. Our girls were on the floor crying and this chick was looking pretty guilty as she watched them."  
  
  
The other students were definitely taking notice now. None of them stepped in or anything.

"Talk!"

"Wait!" One of the girls spoke up. "It couldn't have been Tsubaki. She didn't even touch us. Calm down."

"That was kind of weird, though," another girl said. "It felt like the earthquake in the classroom. Only this time, it lasted longer and I couldn't get up. Earthquakes don't usually do that."

"What earthquake?" The guy who was holding up Akimoto asked.

"Would you please let her down, first? Jeez, you're causing a scene."

The guy dropped Akimoto and she fell to the ground. She didn't move. She only looked down at the floor.

"Just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean you can go attacking people like that! It was completely unjustified too."

"Come on, babe! I was just protecting ya!"

" _After_ the danger had passed?"

"I _thought_ she did it!" He pointed to Akimoto.

"What do you think happened? She used her _magic_?" She made whirly, whimsical gestures with her hands.

"...maybe?"

The girl gave him an annoyed expression.

"I don't know..." Another girl spoke up. "My little sister told me about this first-year student who has some freaky powers. Messing with people's brainwaves or whatever and putting them into comas."

"And you believe that?"

"I mean...some kids did get put into the hospital...so..."

Akimoto immediately thought about an incident that happened in the past. There were kids all face down on the grass with black smoke coming out of their bodies. None of the kids were moving.

She bit down on her teeth, hard, and quickly stood up. She ran away down the hall and past the crowd. Akimoto heard her name being called out, but she ignored it and kept running.

She found herself running down two flights of stairs, trying to get away from everything. Her body felt heavy, achy, and her face was hot, but she kept running.

Eventually, she ran into a tall blond female student. Akimoto and the girl fell over onto the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" The girl demanded with her fist raised.

Akimoto held onto her head with one hand and she breathed hard. _I need to get out of here._

"Did you hear what I said?!" The girl kept insisting.

"Are you two alright?" One of the blond girl's companions asked. She was a smaller girl with long brown hair and ribbons on each side. "Uo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just took me by surprise."

"I'm surprised you didn't react to that sooner," said the girl's other companion, a gloomy looking female student with long black hair and a stoic expression. "Your reflexes are usually pretty good."

"Of course I heard her coming, I just didn't think she'd run into me." She sighed and looked at Akimoto. "Just be careful next time, okay?" Akimoto remained quiet as she continued to hold her head. "Hey. Are you hearing anything that I'm saying? Are you alright?"

The brown-haired girl squatted down next to Akimoto and gently placed a hand on her back. "Do you need help getting up? Please, lean on me if you need to."

Akimoto, continuing to breathe hard, looked up at the girl. She had big brown eyes and a kind expression. Akimoto was immediately reminded how she had just hurt innocent people. She sharply took herself away from the girl's touch.

The blond girl spoke up with an aggressive, cold tone. "Don't be rude! She's trying to help you."

The brown-haired girl smiled nervously. "It's perfectly okay Uo! I guess it is pretty weird for a random stranger to help you." She gave Akimoto a genuine smile. "I'm Tohru Honda. And these are my friends Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima. We're first years. Though I guess that's pretty obvious." She giggled.

Akimoto looked away. "I'm sorry for running into you..." She winced. "I need to—"

"Wait." The gloomy looking girl, Saki, squatted down to Akimoto's level and calmly looked her in the eye.

  
Akimoto was uncomfortable with this, but did her best to keep up her poker face despite how badly she was feeling.

After a few awkward moments, Saki said, "You're like me."

Akimoto blinked a few times in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"We're the same. I've never met someone like me before."

"What the heck are you talking about, Hana? How is she like you?" Arisa asked.

Saki continued to stare at Akimoto. "I can sense it; the power inside of you." She glances over to her friends. "I love you two, but you wouldn't understand this feeling. Even I can barely explain it..."

_She can sense my power? How...?_

Saki then looks back at Akimoto. Akimoto stares into Saki's deep purple eyes and is startled by something peculiar. Deep within her eyes, Akimoto sees a bright, dancing green energy that appears to be hidden to the rest of the world. She was so confused.

"I see silver in yours," Saki says. "What do you see in mine?"

Akimoto, who is still breathing hard, is at first lost for words. There was so much going on in such a small amount of time!

"Green..."

"Hmm..."

_If she's like me...then that means she's..._

Arisa looked frustratingly confused. "What the heck are you two talking about? What's green? What's silver?"

"I have no idea what's going on~!" Tohru cheerfully says. "But if Hana says you're like her, then you must be a sweet person. May I please help you now?" Tohru looks at Akimoto's face and finally notices something. She feels Akimoto's forehead. She gasps. "You're burning up! Is that why you were running? To get to the nurse?"

"Seriously? She's sick?" Arisa sighed and helped Akimoto to her feet. "Sick people don't usually run at full speed. You're definitely a weird one. _But_ , there's no helping it, I guess we're responsible for you now. Just lean on me and I'll take you to the nurse."

Akimoto suddenly collapses, completely passed out. Tohru freaks out and begins to panic. Arisa gives her a warm smile and guarantees that she'll get Akimoto there safely. She tells Saki and Tohru to just go back to doing what they were doing and she'll meet back up with them soon. Tohru doesn't want to leave Akimoto alone, but Saki says that she's in good hands. Besides, Akimoto was clearly uncomfortable around them. It was best to give her some space, at least for now. Tohru reluctantly agrees.

Arisa carries Akimoto to the nurse, the other first-years moving out of the way as she does so.

Kyo, who was walking down the hallway, notices an unconscious Akimoto in the arms of this blond girl whom he recognized from class. He immediately runs up to her.

"What's going on here?!" He demands. "Why the heck is she with you?"

Arisa is unfazed. "What's it to you, carrot-top? Is she your girlfriend or something?"

"Heck no! But even if she were, it'd be none of your business." He then growls. "What. Happened?"

"I'm not telling you anything. You could be some creepy stalker or something. Now outta my way." She continues to walk on.

Kyo runs in front of her and blocks her path and clenches his fists. He glares at her. "I'm not asking again."

She returns the glare. "Is that supposed to be intimidating? Please." Kyo takes a step closer towards her. Arisa chuckles. "You're really gonna fight me, a girl, holding another girl in her arms? Either chivalry is dead or you're an idiot. Probably both."

"Tch." Kyo relaxed his body a bit but kept up the attitude. "Look, she's staying with me and my family, so I'm kind of responsible for her."

Arisa is, once again, unfazed. "Try again weirdo."

Kyo growls louder and stomps his foot. "I'm not lying! If you don't believe me, just go ask Yuki! I know that you and all of the other brain-dead girls at this school worship the guy and trust him."

"Hmm...I guess he _is_ the more trustworthy Sohma at this moment, isn't he? In that case, I'm going to take this girl to the nurse and then find Yuki so that he can tell me the truth."

Arisa carries Akimoto to the nurse and Kyo follows. Akimoto is promptly placed into a bed with a cold wash-cloth placed on her forehead to lessen the fever.

Kyo tries to stay to watch her, but Arisa convinces the nurse to make him leave the room with her. The both of them, with their own attitudes, track down Yuki. When Yuki finds out that Akimoto is sick with a fever, he rushes over to the nurses office and sees her resting.

"What happened to her?"

Arisa shakes her head. "I don't exactly have the full story. She ran into me out of nowhere; seemed kind of shaken up. My friend noticed that she had a fever, but when I tried to help her up, she collapsed. When on my way here, Kyo popped up and said she was staying you guys." She glared over at Kyo. "Seems suspicious to me."  
  
Kyo yelled out, "WHY WOULD I EVEN LIE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

They ignored him.

  
Yuki then said, calmly, "He wasn't lying to you."

"Oh!" Arisa said, feigning surprise. "I had no idea!"

"Bull!" Kyo yelled.

"Yeah, well next time, don't sound so sketchy when you're trying to convince someone of something."

Kyo took offense to that. "Who're you callin' sketcy? You brute!"

Arisa was also offended. "Who're you callin' a brute? Jerk!"

They butted heads and tried to push each other back.

"Please!" The nurse called out. "Enough of this. Miss Tsubaki is trying to rest. She doesn't need all of this noise." He shooed them out of the nurse's office.

Yuki gave Kyo a disapproving glance. "Leave it to you to make a scene."

"I'm not having it with you right now!" Kyo lashed out. Kyo stomped off, mumbling to himself. "Don't know why I even bothered...that stupid girl getting sick and dragging me into this mess..."

Yuki thanks Arisa for helping Akimoto. He says she's in good hands now. Arisa smiles at him and gives him a thumbs up. She tells him she's counting on him. She then rushes back towards the direction her friends are in.

A few hours pass and it is now the end of school. Akimoto wakes up and finds herself in the bed at the nurse's office. She tries to piece together what happened before she collapsed.

She sits up and finds a folded up paper lying on her bed. She opens it up and reads it:

_Dear Miss: This is Saki Hanajima. We met earlier today after you ran into my friend Uotani. I hope you are feeling better and that our interaction in no way set off your illness. I'm writing this to you because I have something important to say. You and I are very similar. All my life I knew I was different, and I always felt alone. It seemed as if I was the only one gifted with the burden of my special abilities. I've hurt people intentionally and unintentionally with these abilities. And I can tell that you share a similar if not the same kind of burden as I do. I'm about to tell you something in confidence, so do not utter it to anyone else in this world: when I use my power, glowing green markings appear on my skin resembling vines with leaves swirling around the area in the middle of my chest. No where else, just there._

_When you told me that you saw green in my eyes, I knew that you feel what I feel. You know about this power. I don't know what we are, but I feel a kinship with you, and I don't even know your name. In light of this feeling, it pains me to have to say this:_

_Please stay away from me and my friends._

_I saw the look in your eyes after you crashed into Uotani. Guilt. Fear. Shame. I know those feelings oh too well. I almost killed someone when I couldn't control my abilities. I can tell that you don't have a full grasp on yours just yet since you're still running away from them. I can't allow that type of danger around my friends. I must protect them. I hope you understand._

_I wish I could have the chance to get to know you. I feel like we would have much to talk about. But alas, it isn't meant to be. At least not for now._

_Stay strong, Miss. And please find those who you can count on for support. Tohru was the first one to accept me and Uotani became my best friend too. They anchor me and their love helps me to stay centered. I'm in control._

_You need to find your anchor._

_I hope you find it soon._

_Stay well._

_-Saki Hanajima_

Akimoto put down the note. She then ripped it up so that no one else could read it. _Someone...like me._

She kept following this line of thought. _Taiitsukun, Kikyo, Saki, and me. How many of us are there? Are we in every world?_

_What are we?_

_Saki knew what it was like to unintentionally hurt people. But she was able to find people who stand by her and support her despite her abilities._ Akimoto looks out the window. _I'm trying to find it...somewhere in this universe._

_I wonder if she ever hurts those two with her power or if she's completely in control all the time._

Akimoto thinks about the events of that day. She hurt people twice within a short amount of time, and three times altogether since she arrived.

Right as she's about to dwell on that once more, Yuki and Kyo show up.

Yuki expresses how he's happy that she's awake. He notes how she still looks a bit flushed and how they should take her home so she can rest.

"I thought I see you looking distressed this morning. I'm sorry I didn't recognize how you were feeling quicker," Yuki said.

Akimoto shook her head. "It's not your fault."

Kyo scolds her. "If you were feeling bad, you shouldn't have bothered coming to school today."

Yuki shoots him a glare.

"You're right," Akimoto says. "I'm sorry."

Kyo sighs and looks away. "Yeah...whatever."

After thanking the nurse, the three of them walk home; Akimoto dragging herself along and Yuki walking beside her making sure she doesn't fall over. Kyo walks behind them pretending not to care but walking close enough that if Akimoto fell backwards, he'd be able to catch her.

Yuki tries to comfort her. "I'm sorry you had a bad first day. But hey, things can only get better from here, right?"

Akimoto doesn't respond. She wanted to forget but felt deep within her bones that a storm was coming. She just couldn't shake it. 


	5. Hate on Me

For a few days, Akimoto had been recovering from her sickness while in bed at the Sohma’s house. All the while, she was thinking about everything that happened on that first day. It was a disaster. She didn’t want to go back. She knew that she shouldn’t go back. As much control as she thought she had (and wish she had), she knew that she couldn’t hold back her emotions well enough to stop the darkness from flaring up. And then there were the times when the darkness activated even when she wasn’t emotionally charged. It was just too dangerous. All of the worrying gave her a persisting headache that wouldn’t go away even when the fever had dissipated.

The night before she was to return to school, she attempted to leave the Sohma’s household by jumping out of the window to her room. When she reached the ground, she found Shigure casually waiting for her.

“No good-bye?” He coyly asked.

Akimoto grimaced. He was the one she had promised that she would stay. “How did you—?”

“You’ve had that look that you weren’t comfortable and that you wanted to leave ever since you first arrived. I know you promised that you would stay, but there was a little itch at the back of my head saying that you might give in to your fears. So, for a few minutes each night, I kept an eye on your bedroom window and each door of the house. You could say that I was…” He winked at her, “a guard dog.”

Akimoto took a deep breath and sighed. “I can’t stay here.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, by the way.”

Akimoto spoke louder. “I _said_ I can’t stay here!”

He put on a passive-aggressive smile. “I don’t know what happened to you at school and I’m pretty sure you don’t feel like talking about it, but nevertheless, you come off to me as someone who insists on keeping her word. Then again, I suppose we really don’t know each other that well…”

Akimoto winced. “Bad things happen around me. I don’t want anyone to get…hurt…” Akimoto looked down at the ground as she remembered her promise to him. Their curse was a very sensitive topic. There was no doubt that if regular civilians knew about it, they’d either be scared or want to experiment on the cursed members of the Sohma family. She understood why they didn’t want her to be out on her own in the world. They didn’t trust her and she could cause problems.

And at that moment, she was only proving how untrustworthy she could be.

Shigure also sighed. “Your situation is complicated too, I get that. I don’t know the details, but I get that. But it seems to me that you’ll end up hurting someone no matter which decision you make.”

He was right. If she left, she’d hurt the Sohma’s and make them fear for their future. If she stayed, she could hurt the students at the school and the Sohmas.

“Whatever you choose, I can’t stop you,” Shigure said.

Akimoto turned away from him and shut her eyes tightly as she thought about her decision. The technical right answer was to leave. Less people get hurt that way. But she made a promise to this family. And Taiitsukun must have put her there for a reason. She could end up making things worse, though. Then again, that could happen no matter where she went.

_I can’t turn my back on those who need me._

Her eyes shot open. _The Sohmas need me. They need to know they can trust me. They need me to stay to give them peace of mind._

She turned to face Shigure. _If I manage to gain their trust, then perhaps they’ll let me leave peacefully. Either that or…or my darkness becomes such a big problem that they force me to leave._

_“Or what if everything turns out okay and you end up having a good time?”_

Akimoto blinked as she looked around. _Who said that?_ It was an unfamiliar female voice; sounded young. She looked at Shigure who was giving her a concerned and confused look.

“Are you okay, Akimoto?”

_So, he didn’t hear that?_

“I’m fine.” She looks down at the ground. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

He gives her a skeptical look.

“I promise. I promise I won’t try to leave again. I don’t have anything that I can give to prove to you that I’m telling the truth so…you just have to believe me.”

He gives her an understanding smile and gently herds her back into the house. “Let’s get you back inside so you can rest. Don’t want to be exhausted for your second day of school.”

Akimoto went back inside the house with him.

_What was that voice?_

_=========_

Akimoto woke up the next morning and her headache still lingered. She really didn’t want to go back to that school, but she decided that it was her duty to attend. She got up, got dressed, and after Shigure’s mini attempt at a pep-talk, walked to school with Kyo. Yuki had already headed off to school for student council business, so she was only with Kyo. He walked a few paces ahead of her as she walked while looking at the ground.

Kyo came to a crosswalk and stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. Akimoto was still stuck in her own head that she kept walking and bumped into him.

“Hey!” He said as he turned to face her.

“Sorry,” she told him. She tried to give him eye contact, but as soon as she saw his face, her own face began to heat up and she looked away.

He gave her a skeptical look. “Are you sure you’re up to coming to school? You still seem kinda out of it.” He frowned. “I don’t wanna have to find you passed out again. That was a real drag, ya know.”

“I’m fine,” she said. Her headache was annoying, but she didn’t foresee it causing any issues. “I can do this.”

Kyo turned back around to face the road. “Then pay attention to where you’re going. You’re in an unfamiliar environment with a bunch of strangers. Stay alert.”

“Right…”

The two continued to walk in silence to the school. Once other students came into sight, Akimoto knew that something was wrong. When some of the students saw her, they began to whisper to each other and gave wary looks. She wasn’t a stranger to this reaction. She knew that something unpleasant was going to happen—that’s how the pattern usually went.

After separating from Kyo, Akimoto quickly went to her homeroom and sat at her desk, avoiding talking or giving eye contact to anyone along the way. She saw some of the girls from that group who welcomed her on that first day, but they only watched her and didn’t attempt to approach her.

When class began, things were relatively peaceful. There was a general unease in the air that Akimoto could sense, but she managed to stay focused on the lesson. It was weird, but she felt more at ease knowing that people knew she was trouble because she knew that they would keep their distance from her. And if they kept their distance, then they wouldn’t get hurt. As long as no one approached her, she would be fine. If only her headache wasn’t pounding her head. Maybe she should have taken some medication or something for that. What kind of headache lasts for days?

After the school day had completed, Akimoto decided to go see the nurse to get some pain medication before heading back to the Sohma household. But on her way there, one of the girls from that day approached her.

“Hey, Aki!” The girl said with an apologetic smile.

_Oh no._

Akimoto kept on her poker face but was feeling worried. _Why is she talking to me?_

“I heard you were out sick. I hope you’re feeling better!”

“Uh…huh…” Akimoto avoided eye contact.

“What happened the other day…was crazy right? It was totally weird with those sudden earthquakes.”

Akimoto tried to stop from grimacing. _Please, leave me alone._

“Look, this is so awkward, but I just wanted to apologize for that day. My boyfriend was totally out of line. I hope his insane moment isn’t what made you sick. I’m sure that was scary as heck, right?”

Akimoto couldn’t help but think about that day and how she lost control two times and ended up hurting some people. Those innocent girls didn’t deserve that—no one in their class did.

_Go away._

“He’s actually a big softie, ya know? But you know how men can get when they think their women are in danger: they think they’re superheroes saving the damsel in distress. Totally unnecessary.”

_I want to be alone._

Akimoto noticed the looks she was getting from some students who were walking past.

“So, do you want to hang out with us?” She winked at her. “I promise the boys will be kept on their leashes.”

“I can’t…” Akimoto whispered. She tried to walk around the girl, but the girl blocked her way.

“Pretty please? We want to make it up to you. You didn’t do any of that stuff—you couldn’t have. You deserve some apology cake from us.”

“I’m sorry…” Akimoto stepped away. She couldn’t shake the negative thoughts and memories. Her headache was pounding even more now.

“Please?”

Akimoto raised her voice. “I can’t!” An invisible wave a darkness pulsated out from Akimoto and hit the girl.

The girl was forced to the ground and onto her knees. She began to cry with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Akimoto gasped. She began to hold her hands out to the girl in a helpful gesture, but then rescinded them as she began to back away from her.

A guy’s voice came from behind her. “So, it _was_ you after all.”

Akimoto turned to face him, but not before her arm was tugged and she was slammed against the wall. Before she could process what was happening, she was punched, hard, in her right eye. The force sent her falling to the ground, holding that side of her face. She looked up with her good eye.

She saw the same group of people from that first day: the girls and their (seemingly) delinquent boyfriends. It was the main guy that had punched her—the one who threatened her the other day.

The girl’s friends were helping her back up.

The crying girl spoke up. “You guys were right. It _was_ her. Those weird things only happen when she’s around. I don’t know how…” She sniffed, wiping away her tears. “I don’t know how she’s doing this to me…but it has to be her.” Still crying, she said, “I was only trying to be nice!”

Her boyfriend spoke to Akimoto in a chilling voice. “You hear that? She was only trying to be nice to you, you little freak.” He grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up a bit. “Why don’t you try that little stunt on me, huh? Let me see just how scary you can be.”

Akimoto’s head felt like it was going to explode. She stayed silent, only wincing from the pain.  
  
She could hurt him so badly.

She always had her wand on her. It was tucked into her skirt on her backside. Heck, even if she didn’t resort to using the elements, she could call upon her darkness on her own and make him feel exceptionally miserable, if not to just slam him on the ground.

But she didn’t want to do that.

Even if Taiitsukun didn’t give her the demand to not let people know about her magic, Akimoto couldn’t bring herself to hurt people like this.

They were justified in their anger. They were justified in their fear. She didn’t hurt those girls on purpose, but she deserved the punishment. She should have done better at keeping it in.

So, she’ll just sit there and take it.

The guy let her hair go. Akimoto fell back to the ground. The boys then proceeded to kick her a few times. By this point, a group of students had circled around them. The crowd was full of different emotions ranging from horrified to curious.

The third-year delinquents paused their assault. Akimoto sat up, her whole body aching.

“What’s wrong? Trying to look all innocent now that you’ve been caught? Come on!”

Akimoto struggled to stand up. She continued to avoid anyone’s gaze.

“Why aren’t you looking at me, you red-eyed freak? Think you’re too good for me? Think you’re so tough?” He spat on her shoe. “No one messes with my girl and I’m gonna make sure you know that… _for good_.” He prepares to punch her again.

Akimoto just stands there, waiting for the impact. But suddenly, she hears a familiar voice in her head:

_“Why’re you standin’ around? Move out of the way, you idiot!”_

Akimoto’s eyes widened as she gasped; her body swiftly moved on its own as it dodged the punch by ducking. The guy ended up punching the wall very hard. He recoiled back in pain as he held his fist.

Akimoto blinked a few times in bewilderment. _That was…Inuyasha’s voice. Was that a memory? Or…?_

“You little tramp!” The boy said through the pain. His friends moved in to strike her, but Akimoto’s body proceeded to move on its own and moved out of the way. She then gathered her strength to run away from the scene.

“You ain’t getting’ away!” Shouted the main delinquent. But just then, a hand landed on his shoulder. It was one of the teachers giving him a very stern look. The delinquent gulped.

==========

Akimoto continued to run even though her whole body hurt. She wondered why she heard Inuyasha’s voice out of nowhere. Was he trying to contact her? That couldn’t have been. His timeline got reset, so there’s no way he even knows who she is now.

She then remembered when she shattered the Shikon Jewel and was ready to face the consequences by allowing the villagers to violently punish her. If it weren’t for Inuyasha swooping in and saving her, who knows what condition she’d be in? He scolded her back then, saying she was a fool for even trying to do that. _I guess I just remembered…Neither Inuyasha nor Shippo would want me to allow myself to get hurt like that. Those two valued my well-being. Somebody out there thinks I’m worth saving…_

Even when she made it outside, she continued to run. Before too long, she ran right into someone’s back again, knocking them over.

Now her body really hurt.

“What the heck is wrong with you?!” Said a familiar voice.

Akimoto looked at saw that she was on top of Kyo.

She frantically jumped off of him. Before he had a chance to turn around and face her, she realized what her right eye must have looked like after being punched. She swiftly ruffled part of her hair and brought a bunch of the longer strands in front of her face to cover her eye.

Kyo turned to face her. “ _You_ again?”

She gave him a small bow. “I’m sorry!”

Kyo noticed the hair in front of her eye. “What the heck is goin’ on with your hair?”  
  
“It’s nothing!” She anxiously said. Once she realized her frazzled tone, she scaled it back. She cleared her throat and then put her stoic face back on. “I mean…it’s nothing. I’m just trying something new.”

“Tch. Well obviously looking around with just one eye is messing with your depth perception, did’ja ever think of that?” He stood up. “You plan on staying down there?”

With that cue, Akimoto tried to stand up, but found it difficult due to the pain from being kicked.

Kyo gave a confused look. “What’s up with you?”

“It’s nothing. I’m…fine…” She finally managed to get onto her feet, although wobbly.

“You don’t look fine. Why do you seem so uncomfortable just standing there?”

Akimoto didn’t say anything.

Kyo rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go.” He began to walk away from the school. Akimoto followed, still recalling the events of the day.

==========

That evening, Akimoto sat at the dinner table with Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure. Her movements were very slow and she mostly just stared down at her food. She was also wearing a long-sleeved shirt and long pants to hide the bruises. Her hair was still covering her eye.

Yuki asked Akimoto how her second day of school was. Akimoto, avoiding everyone’s gaze, told him it was okay. He then notes how quiet she’s being. She then responds with “I’m always quiet.” Yuki is visibly concerned as he could feel that something was up but couldn’t tell what.

Shigure compliments Akimoto’s new hairstyle. She simply says “Thanks.”

Kyo says nothing as he watches her.

Akimoto goes to bed with a lot on her mind and a headache still haunting her.

==========

The next day, Akimoto returns to school, still hiding what was now a black-eye with her hair. The wary eyes of her classmates and other students followed her again, but that was to be expected. She largely ignored the looks. She went to class, mostly certain that most people were going to leave her alone. She wasn’t so certain if those delinquents would, though. In their minds, they have more power over her and will likely seek her out again until they find a reason not to. Again, the easy solution would be for her to just unleash a little bit of magic against them—darkness or otherwise—but she was adamant in not doing that. She decided that she wouldn’t just sit around and let them hurt her, even if she did deserve it. But she wasn’t so certain that she could avoid them for long. She didn’t know what to do.

During the break between class, Akimoto quickly exited the class and tried to leave that third-year hallway. But when she reached the steps, she was stopped by the delinquents who managed to trap her in her spot (some were in front of her, and some were behind).

“And where do you think you’re goin’, freak?”

Akimoto just gave him a stoic look. She noticed how his knuckles were covered by a bandage.

“Still stayin’ quiet, huh? I gotta say, I respect that.” He looked at the hair covering her eye. “I’m guessing you have a pretty sweet shiner there, huh? Let that be a reminder that I don’t care if you’re a girl; no one messes with my woman.”

It’s a rare feeling, but Akimoto really wanted to roll her eyes. These guys really had no idea how out of their league they were when it came to who was stronger. They sure would humble themselves if they knew the truth. They’re just regular teenage humans, after all.

“Sorry that we got interrupted yesterday. Turns out someone squealed on us and got a teacher. It was lucky for us that you ran away, though, because there was no proof that we did anything wrong.”

“We might have been in trouble if enough of the other students agreed that we were pounding on ya, but turns out that we aren’t the only ones in school who don’t like you,” another one of the delinquents said. “Not enough people would vouch for you so the teacher didn’t know what to do with us.”

“We may be on probation, but we don’t care.” The main delinquent stepped closer to Akimoto. “Even if they expel me, I’m going to enjoy making you cry.”

Akimoto tried to think of how she could get out of this. She looked around as discreetly as she could for any possible means of escape. The guy lifted his fist. She braced herself.

Just then, the guy’s arm was twisted behind him and forcibly shoved against his back.

“W-What the?” He looked behind him before being kicked against a wall. The guy growled. “Who’s got the nerve?!”

Standing before them was Kyo with a ticked off look on his face as he said nothing. He merely glared at the one who was threatening Akimoto.


	6. Don't Save Me

Kyo continued to glare at the delinquents who threatened Akimoto.

_Kyo? Why is he here?_ Akimoto thought to herself.

“Who’s this small fry?” The lead delinquent asked as he stood up and regained his composure.

“Probably an underclassman,” another one of them remarked.

The lead delinquent looked over at Akimoto, who was still surprised by the situation (but it didn’t show on her face). “Is this your little boyfriend? Or did you pay someone to be your bodyguard?”

Neither Akimoto nor Kyo said anything to him. Kyo just continued to glare and Akimoto watched him. Kyo then turned partially around towards Akimoto and grabbed her by the wrist. This made Akimoto’s face heat up again at the feel of his touch.

“We’re leaving,” he said to her without looking at her.

“You’re not goin’ anywhere!” The lead delinquent said as he menacingly approached Kyo and Akimoto. “The only reason your face is still in-tact is because you made us curious. But make no mistake: you’re in trouble, kid.” One of the other delinquents tried to sneak up on Kyo, but he quickly elbowed him in the nose, causing him to recoil backwards in pain. Another tried to swing at him with a fist, but Kyo ducked and upper cut him in the jaw. At this point, Kyo quickly tugged at Akimoto’s arm and told her to get going as he began to run away from the scene with her. Akimoto ran with him; the delinquents chasing them from behind.

Past other students and classrooms, Kyo and Akimoto ran up the stairs and past hallways. The delinquents were never far behind.

They eventually reached the rooftop level. Kyo ran Akimoto to the edge of the building surrounded by a secure railing system.

“Nowhere left to run…” The lead delinquent said as he and his group creeped closer to the two.

Kyo positioned himself in front of Akimoto, still keeping his intimidating expression.

“ _Ahem_.”

Everyone looked over to see one of the teachers looking very sternly at the situation.

“Is everything alright here?” He asked.

The delinquent’s statures immediately changed at the sight of the authority figure. Their bodies became stiff and the color in their faces drained away.

The delinquents all nodded vigorously. “Everything is just fine, sir!”

The teacher looked over at the one delinquent whose nose was bleeding from being elbowed. “Young man, are you aware that your nose is bleeding?”

From out of nowhere, the delinquent pulled out a couple pieces of tissue paper and stuffed them into his nostrils; all while keeping the fake smile. “I’ll get it checked out right away, sir!”

With very stilted steps, the lead delinquent walked up to Kyo and patted him on the head. Kyo wore an annoyed “I’m going to kill you at any moment” look on his face. “Well, I hope you enjoyed our tour, underclassman! Remember you can always come to us if you need anything, okay?”

Kyo’s eyes only narrowed more.

The group of delinquents then slowly backed away and disappeared back into the school building.

The teacher then looked over at Kyo and Akimoto. “And what about you two?”

Kyo was about to say something to him, but Akimoto quickly responded, “Everything’s fine! I’m new to this school and they all just wanted to show me around…”

He narrowed his eyes. “Is that _true_?”

Akimoto avoided the teacher’s gaze and gave a stoic “Yes.”

The teacher looked over at Kyo.

Kyo sighed in frustration. “…yeah…”

After a few more moments of the teacher giving them suspicious looks, he turned away from them saying, “Very well then, carry on.” He then sat on a bench connected to the wall with the doorway to the building, continuing to type on his laptop.

Kyo then tugged on Akimoto’s wrist and said, “Come on.” He led her over to a corner of the roof not easily seen from the vantage point of that teacher. He let go of her wrist and began to raise his voice with her. “You gonna tell me what the heck that was all about?”

She looked down and away. “I didn’t need your help…”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Really?” He then quickly reached over to Akimoto to move away the hair in front of her face, revealing her black eye. “How do you explain _that_?”

Akimoto pulled away from him, still avoiding his gaze. “It’s not that bad. I had it under control.”

“Why were they attacking you? Did you insult them in any way?”  
  
“…no.”

“Did you cheat them?”

“No.”

“Did you lay your hands on them?”

“ _No_.”

“So, they’re just attacking you for no reason?”

Akimoto kept silent. _There is a reason…and their anger is justified. I just can’t tell you that._

He turned away from her and scratched his head in frustration. “Now I gotta look after you to make sure they don’t do any more damage. _Great_.”

Akimoto’s eyes widened as she snapped her head to look at him. “No, you don’t! I never asked for help. This isn’t your concern so just…go back to doing whatever it is you were doing. I’m sorry you felt you had to get involved, but I’m _fine_.”

He snapped at her. “You’re _not_ ‘fine.’ Those guys left you limping and with a black eye. It woulda been worse if I hadn’t stepped in. You think I want to get involved in your mess? I’m only doing this because I’m responsible for you.”

Eye contact was made and there was silence between them. Once his face fully registered to Akimoto, she blushed and looked away.

“I’m only responsible for myself. I’m not dragging you into my problems…” Her voice became quieter. “I don’t want any of you to be…”

“Look, I’m not leaving some innocent girl to be bullied by some thugs who share a brain cell. Despite what people think, I’m not a…” He paused as he thought about what he was going to say.

Akimoto looked at him out of the corner of her eye with concern.

Kyo thought about that first night Akimoto showed up at their house. For some unknown reason, he had lost control, attacking and injuring her. He growled and clenched his teeth and raised his voice again. “I don’t care what you want, I’m going to protect you!”

Akimoto’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t know how to respond to that. She noticed how Kyo was clenching his fists and looking down at the ground with a frustrated expression.

She really didn’t want Kyo to protect her. In fact, she didn’t want him around her at all. After what her darkness did to him on that first night, she didn’t want anything else bad happening to him.

She owed him peace of mind.

===========

“Hi Aki! How have you been?”

Later that evening, Kagura had called Shigure’s house to check up on Akimoto. Akimoto reluctantly picked up the phone to talk to her.

“…”  
  


“ _Hello_ …? Aki? Can you hear me?”

“…yeah, I can hear you.”  
  
“Sweet! So, how has school been?”

“I was sick for a few days, today was my first day back…”

“Oh no! You were sick? Are you okay now?”

“Just a bit of a headache…but otherwise fine.”

“I guess that explains why you hadn’t contacted me since we last saw each other—you weren’t feeling well! That’s understandable. It’s good to hear your voice, though! So, have you met any cool people yet?”

Akimoto pauses for a moment. “I… _have_ ‘met’ people…”

“Awesome! Make sure you get a whole bunch of people to look out for you, okay? You could always try to get Yuki to try and help you out. I know he’s pretty popular with the ladies.”

“Uh…huh…”

“No one has tried to pick on you, have they?”

“…no,” she lied.

“That’s good to hear. Just remember that if anyone messes with you, I’ll be there in a heartbeat to teach them a lesson!”

“Yeah…thanks…”

“So…is there anything you want to ask me?”

Akimoto paused again in thought. “…no, not really.”

“Oh…” A bit of disappointment could be heard in Kagura’s voice. Then she suddenly sounded aggressive. “Why is that?! Am I not interesting enough for you?!

Akimoto jumped a bit from being startled. She grimaced. “That’s…not it. I’m just…tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Hmm…” Kagura thought in silence. “Yeah, okay. I’m sorry if I was a bit pushy…”  
  
“It’s fine.”

“One more thing before I let you go: How’s Kyo? Has he said anything about me?”

“Uh…” Akimoto tried to think of an appropriate response given recent events. “He’s…fine. He’s just been distracted with school…and stuff…”

“‘And stuff?’” She raised her voice again. “Is there some girl at that school trying to get close to him?”

“No, no. Nothing like that. School is just kind of stressful, you know? Why not just…I don’t know, ask him yourself how he’s doing?”

“Oh! I uh…” Kagura went silent for a few seconds. “Nah, it’s-it’s fine. He and I have a much better dynamic in person than on the phone. You know how us lovey dovey couples are!” She laughed uneasily. “Anyway, I have some homework I need to get to. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”  
  
“…sure.”

“Bye!”

Click.

Akimoto sighed. She walked over and joined Shigure and Kyo at the table to eat dinner. There was more of that familiar silence between them. Akimoto and Kyo were noticeably avoiding eye contact.

After a few moments of silence, Shigure spoke up with a nervous grin. “What’s with this tense atmosphere? Did something happen between you two?”

Kyo took an angry bite of food. “It’s none of your business.”

“Ah! So, something _did_ happen! That’s exciting!” Shigure said with a pleased tone.

Kyo shouted, “I said it’s none of your business!”

Just then, Yuki came into the house, walking fast. He had apparently stayed late at the school to perform more of his student council duties. He approached Akimoto.

“Miss Tsubaki, has anything been going on with you and the other students?”

Akimoto’s body froze.

“The girls I introduced you to the other day approached me and warned me to stay away from you. They accused you of being a…a witch.”

Akimoto did her best to keep her stoic expression, but it was getting tougher given her distress.

Yuki kneeled beside her and gave her a concerned, yet sympathetic look. “I would like to hear from you what has happened. Please, help me to understand.”

_That would require me to explain but not explain my darkness…which I’d rather not attempt to do…_

Akimoto sighed and moved the hair out of her face so that Yuki and Shigure could see her bruised eye.

Shigure and Yuki both gasped.

Yuki spoke first. “When did that happen? Who did that to you?”

Akimoto didn’t reply.

He tried to prod some more. “Was it those girls?”

She still didn’t reply.

“Miss Tsubaki, bullies will absolutely not be tolerated. I’m in the student council, let me help—”

“That’s unnecessary,” she told him. She then looked at him. “I’m going through a bit of a rough patch right now, but I don’t need any pity or sympathy. Please just…ignore this; ignore everything. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Miss Tsubaki—”

“I guess that explains why you wanted to leave so badly,” Shigure said with an exasperated tone. “Gotta say, I feel like a bit of a jerk…”  
  
“Please don’t!” Akimoto told him. “Don’t. Just…don’t ever feel bad for me. I…” _I deserve what comes to me._ She then stood up. “Excuse me. I’m going to retire for the night.”

“Wait—” Yuki tried to say, but Akimoto left the room and went upstairs. Now with a frustrated expression, Yuki turned to Kyo. “You don’t seem surprised by any of this. Did you know what was going on?”

Kyo looked annoyed. “I only just found out about it recently, you stupid rat, so don’t go blamin’ me for anything.”

“Do you know who injured her?”

Kyo avoided his glare and looked away, continuing to eat.

“You _do_ know, don’t you?”

Kyo continued to ignore him.

“Would you not be selfish for one day in your life?!” Yuki yelled. “If you don’t tell me who’s hurting her, then she could remain in danger!”

Kyo growled. “You’re really getting on my nerves, you know that?!”

“Good! Then maybe that’ll actually motivate you to take some responsibility for once—”

“I’m keeping her safe, so just back off, rat!”

Yuki was taken aback from that statement. Shigure was a mixture of amused and concerned. They both stared at Kyo, who’s face became redder the longer they stared.

“What?!” He asked them.

“You’re going to keep her safe, huh?” Shigure asked. “That’s awfully charitable of you, Kyo. And here I was under the impression that you didn’t like Akimoto. But look at you now: a prince in shining armor growing up before my very eyes.”

“Can it, Shigure, it’s not like that!” Kyo shouted. “And I _don’t_ like her. I don’t hate her, either. I’m not just gonna sit around and do nothing.”

“Oh please,” Yuki said, exasperated, “You’re only going to get both of you into trouble. It’s one thing to make things worse for yourself, but to drag her down with you—”

“I don’t need you lecturing me! I know what I’m doing. Neither of us are going to get into trouble. We’ll lay low. I’ll just keep her away from the danger.”

“The danger would go away if you just let me know who’s bothering her.”

“Look, _Prince Yuki,_ if you don’t intend on helping out every single student at that school who’s having problems, then don’t bother helping her just because it’s convenient for you. Besides, you swooping in and using your privileged powers to help her might only isolate her more. So just back off and let me handle it.” Kyo continued to angry eat.

Yuki gave him a disapproving look. Just as he was about to say something else, Shigure stepped in. “Leave her to Kyo for now, Yuki.”

Surprised, Yuki began to talk, “But—”

“You have enough on your plate already; you don’t need to burnout monitoring who Akimoto encounters during the day and policing anyone suspicious. If any more incidents occur, then sure, feel free to step in. But Kyo is more than capable of protecting her. I for one am just happy that he’s taking interest in another person.” Shigure gives Kyo a coy smile.

“Aren’t you concerned at all about her? About any of this?” Yuki asked their older cousin.

“Of course I am! I don’t want to see dear Akimoto harmed either. But the fact remains that there are a whole bunch of unknowns in this situation. We don’t know exactly what happened between Akimoto and her aggressors nor do we know what she’s capable of. And, to be honest, we don’t really even know her character all that well, either. For all we know, she’s putting on a show for us. She keeps to herself so much that anything is possible.” That comment made Yuki think a bit. “Be smart about this, Yuki. Let’s acquire some more intel first and let the scene play out before jumping in, okay?”

Yuki just sat and thought, looking down at the food.

Shigure winked over at Kyo. “We trust her with you, Kyo. Just remember to be a gentleman.”

“What’s with the weird implications?” Kyo accused, making Shigure chuckle. Kyo then laid down his eating utensils and swiftly stood up. “I’m heading to bed.” He excused himself from the room.

_Very interesting…_ Shigure thought to himself. _I wonder what will happen next?_


	7. Far Cry From a Headache

For the next several days, Akimoto finds herself evading her bullies, and just generally avoiding most of the other students, by resorting to escaping to the roof. On her way there, Kyo would always meet up with her, running up the stairs from the bottom level, and temporarily fend off any delinquent who might have gotten too close. Once on the roof, Akimoto would insist that Kyo stop trying to protect her since he showed her this effective safe haven, but he'd tell her to back off and that he'll do whatever he wants.

"What if one day that teacher isn't there, huh? Then what are you gonna do?" He'd ask in an aggressive tone. "You've proven that you can't take care of yourself, so now I have to do it."

That stung. Akimoto had worked hard in the Feudal Era to ensure that she wasn't helpless. She had the power now but wasn't allowed to use it. Because of Taiitsukun's rules, someone was putting themselves on the line for her...again.

"Why are you even doing this, Kyo? You don't even like me."

He avoided eye contact and turned away scowling.

Due to his silence, Akimoto was crestfallen. She looked at the ground with a defeated frown.

"...I'm settling a debt."

Akimoto watched his back and pondered. Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized what he meant. Her expression became sad. "Oh."

The two of them remained on the roof for the remainder of their free time in silence.

_You're going to regret helping me...I just know it._

So, every day, it was the same routine. Throughout this time, Akimoto's headaches worsened and she started to lose sleep because of the pain.

One day, she was so dizzy from the pain and lack of sleep, that, while running up the stairs with Kyo, she lost her balance and almost fell. Kyo grabbed her arm in time and helped to lift her back up.

Once they were on the roof, Kyo inspects Akimoto and notices her wincing from pain.

"What's going on with you? Are you alright?"

She struggles a response. "I'm...fine."

He lashes out at her. "Don't treat me like I'm some sort of idiot. I can clearly see that something is wrong. You've been looking more exhausted than usual and I see you grabbing at your head a lot."

"Don't worry about it."

"You almost fell down the stairs! Even if you hadn't been too hurt from that, someone would have caught you and—"

At that moment, Akimoto's glowing silver symbols and pupils began to flicker on and off uncontrollably.

"Hey!" Kyo glanced around them to make sure no one could see what was happening. "Why're you doing that?"

"I'm...not! This has never happened before!" Her headache became worse which only made her glow more and fall to the ground, doubled over in pain as she grabbed her head.

Kyo hovered over her with a panicked expression, not knowing what to do. "Hang in there! Uh...Darn it! How am I supposed to help?!"

"Knock...me...out."

Kyo, with wide-eyes, looked down at her. "What?!"

"Please...knock me out. You can do that....right?" She looked at him with a pained expression.

"No! I'm not laying a finger on you. There has to be another way!"

"Kyo, listen..." She spoke through gritted teeth. "I have no...idea what is going to happen; what I'm about to do. I don't want anyone to get hurt; I...don't want YOU to get hurt. Please...just knock me out and let me have some relief. Tell the nurse...that I fainted from a migraine or something..."

He could hear the desperation in her voice and bit down hard on his own teeth in frustration. He then squatted down and laid his hands on Akimoto's shoulders. He lifted her up so that her torso was vertical to the ground.

He tells her he's sorry in a soft tone and then balls up his fist and strikes her hard in her gut with all of his strength, knocking the wind out of her. Her glowing subsides and her body goes limp as she falls into unconsciousness. To avoid transforming, Kyo carefully sets her on the ground without making full body contact.

He sits back from her and sighs. "You idiot. How the heck am I supposed to carry you to the nurse?"

After a few moments of thinking, he thought of something. He groaned.

=========================

"Hahaha how sad! Couldn't even take responsibility and get her to the nurse on your own. What kind of man are you, exactly?" Arisa Uotani laughed at Kyo as she carried the unconscious Akimoto on her back.

Kyo growled. "I told you, I was in an accident recently and my doctor said that I couldn't lift heavy objects. If I had carried her, she might've—I'm not explaining this to you again!"

"You're lucky I'm such a nice person or I would have let you try to figure this out on your own, carrot top."

He became increasingly annoyed. "As if! Your friend there told you to help!" Kyo aggressively pointed to Tohru Honda who was smiling nervously.

"Please don't fight you two. Helping someone out is always a good thing to do!"

Saki Hanajima, who was also walking alongside them, said in a mellow tone, "Tohru is truly an angel among us."

Arisa agreed and nodded. "We aren't worthy of her sweetness!"

Kyo groaned again. "Gag me."

"Um, if I may ask, Kyo?" Tohru spoke.

Kyo continued walking without looking at her. "What?"

"Why exactly did she faint?"

"She had a migraine or something."

"'Or something,' huh? Sure sounds suspicious..." Arisa said.

"Well, that's what it was, so I don't know what you want me to say!"

"I'd suggest taking her home as soon as possible," Saki said. "You wouldn't want any unwanted eyes seeing something they shouldn't see."

Kyo quickly turned his head to face her. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Just as Kyo was about to ask her to explain herself, Saki pointed out, "Oh, look. We've arrived." The group stood in front of the nurse's office.

Arisa helped to lay Akimoto down onto a cot. Kyo explained the situation to the nurse and the nurse agreed that Akimoto should probably go home if she had a migraine strong enough to knock her out.

Saki and Tohru prepare to head back to class, but Arisa says that she'll hang out a bit.

She points back at Kyo. "This moron didn't stop to consider that he won't be able to carry her back home on his own, so it looks like I'm going to have to do it."

Kyo took offense. "Hey! Who're you calling a—"

Tohru smiles cheerfully. "That's so nice of you, Uo!"

"You could always just let him sit and try to figure it out," Saki suggested.

Arisa shook her head. "Nah. I'm not going to let her suffer just because her boyfriend is inept."

Kyo's face turned red as he shouted, "I'm not her boyfriend, and I don't need your help!"

The nurse shushed at them to be quiet. Other students were trying to rest as well.

"Way to go, loudmouth. Your tsundere personality is bound to give everyone here headaches," Arisa said in annoyance.

Kyo just shot her a glare.

"Well then, I guess we'll catch up with you two later!" Tohru said as she and Saki prepared to leave. She then happily addressed Kyo specifically. "See you in class tomorrow, Kyo! Please tell your friend that I hope she feels better soon!"

Kyo avoids eye contact with her as she and Saki walk away.

Arisa carries Akimoto to the Shigure's home with Kyo showing her the way. The two of them bicker intermittently. Once there, Arisa comments on how their home is so tucked away into the woods and away from the rest of town. She also finds out how Akimoto is staying with the Sohmas as an "exchange student." She gives Kyo a coy look in reference to how the two are technically living together. He tells her to put Akimoto to bed and leave. While shooing her away, Kyo gives a final glance at the sleeping Akimoto before closing the door to her room behind him.

When nighttime rolls around, Akimoto is still sleeping soundly in her bed. All of a sudden, the glowing symbols return and she is jolted awake by a massive headache.

_I have to...get away!_

Akimoto slowly makes her way out of Shigure's house while doing her best to stay quiet. All the while, she grabbed her head, and used her willpower to keep in whatever was trying to get out. When she found herself outside, she broke into a pained run into the forest to get as far from anyone as possible. Several minutes into the forest, she tripped and fell to the ground. She tried to get up, but the pain was too unbearable. The symbols on her body glowed even brighter as she could feel something trying to burst out of her from the inside.

 _Don't hurt anyone...please!_ She told herself.

Without thinking about it, Akimoto created a her nearly transparent dome barrier of energy around herself and then proceeded to emit a violent windstorm within the barrier where she was. The wind was so strong that it chewed away at the ground beneath her, creating a deep crater in the earth. This event lasted for only about seven seconds before Akimoto was able to stop the outburst of energy.

Once the glowing stopped and the barrier was down, she was immediately flooded with a sense of relief. No more pain and her powers were back under control. She gave a deep sigh and sat down in the crater she made.

If that barrier hadn't shown up, she would have razed the entire forest along with the Sohmas.

"What was that? Why did that happen?" She asked herself. She thought it over. _I only felt better after using my powers...and before that, the glowing happened on its own. It's almost like..._ She gasped.

"There was a magical buildup," A voice said from behind her. Akimoto turned to find Taiitsukun floating there, unfazed by the scene.

"A magical...?"

"All of that energy inside of you was trying to get out after not being released in so long. The stress was what gave you those headaches. Your body is not air-tight, however. You are a being that produces and releases energy and if that energy isn't coming out in controlled bursts, then it will find its way out."

"So...if I don't use my magic for a while, it'll all just...explode?" She gestured to the crater.

Taiitsukun nodded. "In a matter of speaking."

Akimoto was annoyed. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner? I could have seriously hurt someone!"

"Some things are best learned with experience."

Akimoto raised her voice. "It's not like I wouldn't have believed you. You're the only one I can count on to guide me with my powers. And I know you know how much I hate hurting people!"

"Look around." Taiitsukun gestured to the area around them. "No one was injured. Your instincts prevented you from being totally destructive."

Akimoto calmed down. "That's. _Not_. The point."

Taiitsukun turned away from Akimoto. "Everything I do or don't do is for a reason. You're just going to have to trust me."  
  
"Like you telling me to not let others know about my powers? It's more troublesome for me to keep them a secret." She looks down to the ground and frowns sadly. "People are going out of their way for me because of it..."

"Is that really such a bad thing?"

Akimoto blinked and looked up at Taiitsukun with mild anger. "Yes! You know what can happen. Especially since I can't adequately warn them... And then there's the people who could get hurt because they don't know they shouldn't mess with me."

"You should learn to have a bit more faith in your ability to control things," Taiitsukun said.

"Huh?"

"You'll figure it out." The old woman then disappeared into one of her golden portals.

Akimoto then inhales and exhales deeply. _It's not that big of a deal, Aki. Like she said, no one got hurt and at least I know the situation now._ She sat in silence for a few moments before remembering that she created this crater in the ground. She scrambled to stand up as she stared down at it.

 _If someone were to come across this, they'll probably be suspicious and give the Sohmas trouble. I need to fill it up but—_ "Shoot!" She pats herself down and realizes she forgot her wand...again.

Out of nowhere, something forcefully hits Akimoto on the back of her head. After wincing in pain and holding the back of her head, she looks down and behind her to find that her wand was lying on the ground.

Taiitsukun.

Akimoto blushed in embarrassment as she picked up her microphone and used her powers to make the ground level again and then growing some grass on top of the spot for good measure.

She had to admit: it was nice freely using her magic again. Ever since her powers were unlocked, using them was, of course, awkward at first, but deep down, it felt...right. She was meant to use these abilities and now she knew that living a healthy life meant using them as often as possible. But if she had been told about this "magical buildup" issue before, she wouldn't have been such an inconvenience to Kyo.

 _Wait...Kyo!_ He had gone out of her way to help her the past several days and he even obliged in knocking her out. Akimoto wasn't even sure how he got her back to Shigure's house without transforming into a cat. She really did cause him a lot of trouble.

 _I need to do something to thank him._ She thought about what she could potentially do as she made her way back to the house. Eventually, some doubts started to kick in. _Should I do anything? He might just end of thinking that I'm doing this for damage control. Why am I even doing this? I'm supposed to be pushing him away, not inviting him in! He could get hurt!_ Memories of her time with Inuyasha and Shippo pop into her head. She stopped walking and became sad. _It was nice having people around me...who actually wanted to be around me. Both of them were affected by my darkness, but they stayed with me anyway...even though I accidentally hurt them sometimes._

She looked up at Shigure's house with a thoughtful, somber expression.

_I shouldn't be selfish...but..._

====================================

The next morning, Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure found that Akimoto was feeling and looking a lot better. She apologized to them for making them worry. Kyo had an annoyed expression and didn't say anything.

The rest of the day played out like it usually did. Akimoto and Kyo would run away to the rooftop of the school during their free time to avoid the bullies.

During lunch, Akimoto presented something to Kyo.

"I made this lunch for you," she said, holding up a box lunch.

Kyo, surprised, blushed slightly. "Wha-? Why did you make this? Don't you know what it means when a girl gives a guy one of these things?"

The thought made Akimoto blush as well. "It's not like that at all. I just wanted to thank you and say sorry for all the trouble I've given you. I completely disrupted your life and now I occupy so much of your time. It's not ideal, I'm sure. Since you refuse to leave me alone, this is the least I can do." She continues to try to hand it to him.

He looks away and scratches his check sheepishly. "It's not the most horrible thing... It's not like I have anything else to do at this school during my free time. Dealing with your drama takes away the boredom, I guess..." He continues to avoid her gaze as he chastises her. "I didn't need you goin' out of your way to make something for me. When did you even have the time to make that?"

"Doesn't matter," she said, continuing to insist. 

Kyo eventually looks at her again and sees her determined expression. Direct eye contact with him made her face heat up even more and she tilted her head towards the ground while still lifting up the lunch to him. Her stomach was doing flips and she had no idea why.

After a few moments of silence, Kyo sighs and takes the lunch from her. She was a bit relieved but continued to look at the ground as she didn't want him to see her flushed face.

Kyo opened the box and inspected the food. It all looked really well made and honestly just reminded him of how hungry he usually was around this time. After taking it upon himself to protect Akimoto, he had forsaken getting meals just to ensure he reached her in time. She must have noticed that he had being going without food and wanted to make up for it. Kyo actually looked forward to eating until he noticed something unfavorable.

"Ugh, leaks!" He said out loud in disgust.

Akimoto snapped her head up to see what he was talking about. "You...uh...don't like leaks?"

"Can't stand 'em," he said.

Akimoto frowned. "I'm sorry...I worked with what I had and I saw them lying around—"

"Nah, don't worry about it. You didn't know, so I can't hold that against you," he told her. For a few moments, Kyo just sat and stared at the food with a grimace.

"I won't be offended if you don't want to eat it," Akimoto reached out to take the lunch. "I'll do better next ti—"

Kyo took a bite of the food while telling her to back off. Once his tongue detected the leak, his face practically turned a shade of green in revulsion. His swallow looked painful.

_Why are you eating it if you don't like it?_

With a shaky hand, Kyo attempted to pick up some more food. At that moment, Akimoto reached over with an extra pair of chopsticks and began picking out the leak pieces and eating them.

She avoided eye contact. "If you insist on eating this, then I'll try to make the experience less terrible."

The thought of them eating from the same lunch made Kyo's face red again. The two of them ate together in uncomfortable silence.


	8. Friends & Family

"Hello, Aki! How have you been doing?"

"Hi Kagura. I'm fine."

Once again, Kagura had called Akimoto on the phone to check up on her.

"I haven't heard from you since right after you got sick, are you still feeling okay? How is school going? I bet you're the most popular girl there, right? Don't hold back any details!"

Akimoto spoke with her monotone voice all while keeping her stoic poker face. "I'm feeling a lot better, thanks. School is okay. I'm well known, I suppose." _Not exactly in the most positive way, but... you know._ "There isn't much to report...Sorry."

"Oh! Well...no worries. Life can't always be exciting. Heck, I know mine isn't! School and general mundane daily living isn't exactly the kind of stuff they'd write a book about." She chuckles. "But that's why we gotta go out there and make our own excitement! Next time I come visit, you and I should totally do something fun, yeah?"

Akimoto's lips turned into a frown reflecting her discomfort. "I guess...but wouldn't you rather hang out with Kyo than me?"

"Of course I love Kyo, and I _definitely_ plan on getting us some alone time—don't tell him about it, though—but there's enough room in my heart for a friend as well!"

"Uh-huh..."

"Speaking of which...how _is_ Kyo doing? Has he confessed his love for me in secret? You can tell me—I promise to act surprised once he finally expresses his feelings."

"Um...well—"

"Never mind! I don't want to know. Surprises are more fun, after all!" She laughs.

Akimoto stays silent, not knowing how to respond to that.

Kagura calms down. "But really, though. Are you sure you're doing okay? I don't get to hear from you often and your voice always sounds a bit sad..."

Akimoto is surprised. "Y-you think I sound sad?"

"Not like the 'pathetic' kind of sad, but more of the 'life sucks but I'm trying to deal with it in my own way' kind of sad. It's hard to explain. From what I've experienced, you don't express yourself very much, so I want to make sure you're not letting some nasty feelings swell up inside of you. That stuff can make you sick, ya know?"

"..."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry. After all, we only met in person once and spoke on the phone a few times, so I don't know you extremely well. I'm only saying what I've noticed. I could be totally wrong, though!"

"..."

"Oh no...I've made you uncomfortable, haven't I? I'm sorry..."  
  


"No...you're fine."

Kagura goes silent and then the two of them sit in silence. After a few moments, she laughs loudly. "Now I've gone and made _myself_ uncomfortable! That's some superpower, huh?"

Akimoto forces an uneasy chuckle. "Yeah..."

"I'll go ahead and let you go now. Call me up whenever you want, Aki!"

"Okay, thanks."

"Bye!" Kagura hangs up the phone.

Akimoto sighs. _Aside from her fixation of Kyo and that random aggression, she actually seems really nice. But..._ She remembers Kagura's violent side and thinks about her strong feelings. _If she ever got hit by my darkness, I'm scared about what she could do and who she would hurt. It definitely wouldn't work out. I'm...already pushing it by hanging around Kyo so much..._ Her face heats up as she thinks about him.

While she walks through the house, she then recalls what Kagura said about her.

 _My voice sounds sad? I thought I had my presentation under control._ Spotting a mirror, she stops in front of it to inspect herself. She takes note of her poker face. _I've mastered this face. No one can tell what I'm really feeling. I'm in control of those feelings. I thought I had my vocal performance under control too. But I sound sad?_

_What am I doing wrong?_

==========================

In the wee hours of the night, after everyone else had long been asleep, Akimoto proceeded to prepare Kyo another lunch, making sure she always left out the leaks. Throughout the task, she would hum and sing softly to herself. It had been about four days since she began making his lunches and she had no intention of stopping any time soon. The longer he insisted on being her body guard, the longer she'd insist on some kind of payment. Besides, cooking was kind of relaxing and it gave her a chance to lift her mood with a familiar melody.

What she didn't know was that on this night, Kyo had snuck out of bed and was watching her cook from an inconspicuous location.

During that next school day, while on the roof, Kyo and Akimoto eat lunch together.

"So...where did you learn how to cook?" Kyo asked.

Akimoto was shocked that he was voluntarily engaging in small talk. His sudden interest made her blush a little. "My older sister taught me. She said I'd need it to learn to take care of myself."

"You have a big sister?"

Her expression became sad. "Had. I had an older sister. She's...gone now..." She made a motion towards her chest, only to be reminded that her locket was no longer with her.

Looking a bit remorseful, Kyo said, "Oh...sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up."

"It's fine. You couldn't have known."

"If it's any consolation, my pops abandoned us a long time ago and my mom...is also...gone..."

With a softened expression, Akimoto says, "I'm sorry too."

Silence. Both were uncomfortable with the spontaneous social interaction.

"Uh..." Akimoto began, "Is that why you're staying with Shigure and Yuki? Because you're..."

"Nah, I'm only staying with them until my Master comes back from his training."  
  
"Master?"

"Yeah, my Master took me in after my mom died."

"So...he's your adopted father?"

"He's not my dad. I mean..." Kyo sighs. "He's a good man and I owe him a lot, but I just don't see him that way."

Akimoto looked away and shifted uncomfortably. She switched the subject somewhat. "Why exactly do you call him 'Master?'"

"Well, he's the one who taught me Karate."  
  
"You do Karate?"

He looked at her with a slightly annoyed expression. "You didn't notice how well I carried myself against those jerks who were attacking you?"

"I was, uh...a bit too distracted by the situation to notice your form..."

"...right." Kyo calmed down. "Well, anyway, that's the situation."

More moments of silence.

Akimoto finally speaks. "Do you enjoy Karate?"

Kyo's face lit up as he held his fists up in determination. "Heck yeah, I do! It's exhilarating and challenging, and it only helps me grow stronger—" Once he notices his sudden demeanor change and Akimoto looking up at him in interest, he shrinks back down in his seat with a reddened face, turned away from her.

This makes Akimoto giggle; the realization of which also makes her face heat up and turn away in embarrassment.

 _Huh. She actually laughed. That's a first,_ Kyo thought. While continuing to not face her, Kyo asks, "So what're you into? Music?"

Her eyes trail back towards him. "What makes you think that?"

"I heard you singing, and it seemed to...I don't know, change the atmosphere around you, or something."

"But...when did you—?" She thought about it for a few seconds. Her face reddened. "W-were you watching me cook?!"

"Don't be stupid! I got up to use the bathroom and I heard you shuffling around in the kitchen. I had to make sure no one was breaking in!"

Akimoto sat and stewed in her humiliation. _He was watching me; he heard me!_

"Tch," Kyo, with an exasperated expression, turned to face Akimoto. "It's not that big of a deal! Besides...I don't know if humming well or awful is possible, but I thought you sounded..." He turned away again, "...not awful..."

Akimoto, still with a red face, blinked in surprise. "What?"

Kyo shrunk in his spot a little bit more. "I mean...I've heard some bad voices and yours was more on the...pleasing side..."

Akimoto frowned deeply as her face stayed warm. _Is he actually complimenting me?!_ She gulped. "M-music is..." Kyo looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Music is my...passion. It's...the best thing about life and it...offers so much—it heals. I love...to sing." She then sat in silence and disbelief about revealing that fact to someone.

"Well, if you like it so much..." Kyo said without looking at her, "You should do it more often. I mean..." He scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I wouldn't be offended if you just...wanted to sing sometimes..."

Akimoto completely turned her back to Kyo. She didn't want him to see how much her demeanor had broken and how flustered she was. She covered her face with both of her hands and then quietly uttered, "Not now..."

He turned to face her. After inspecting her body language and reading the room, he calmly says, "Whenever. Whenever is fine."

============================================

As the days went by, the bullies eventually stopped trying to go after Akimoto. Even with the danger seemingly gone, Akimoto continued to escape to the roof simply to distance herself from everyone...

...but there was another reason too.

Kyo would continue to accompany her on the roof and she would continue to bring a lunch for them to eat. Akimoto has tried telling him that he no longer had to be there with her since the bullies appeared to have given up. In response, he's say that there's a chance that they'll try something again at some point, so he'll stick around a little while longer.

Their small talk continues, and they proceed to learn more about each other little by little.

Even around the house, the two of them can be seen voluntarily interacting a lot more.

Yuki sees this as a good thing as he's happy that Kyo is putting his energy into something more productive, and that Akimoto is finally opening up a bit to someone.

Shigure noticed their friendlier interactions as well and took note. He watched how on the weekend, Akimoto would make lunch for the two of them (also being mindful enough to make some for Yuki and Shigure) and she would watch Kyo train. Shigure was fascinated by this development.

He decided to visit Akito Sohma, the head of the family, at the main Sohma estate and let him know know about what was happening.

"So this girl, Akimoto Tsubaki, is overstaying her welcome, huh?" Akito said coldly while looking out of a window. "I was so generous in not only allowing her to stay with you but also getting her enrolled at that school and she's deciding to keep Kyo all to herself. How selfish."

Shigure smiled. "Akimoto seems like a nice enough girl. The mystery around her also fascinates me."

"She _fascinates_ you?" Akito approached Shigure and wrapped his arms around his neck in an embrace.

Shigure kept his cool smile. "Absolutely. It's not everyday a girl quite literally falls into our lives. There's still so much to explore about her."

Akito glared. "There's something wrong with her. Hatori has never failed at erasing someone's memory. What makes her so special?"

"Who knows? But the mystery makes it fun."

Akito's eyes narrowed.

"What are you planning on doing about it?" Shigure asked.

Akito gave a chilling smile. "I think it's time for me to finally meet her...

...and to put Kyo back in his place."

========================================

Akimoto and Kyo are walking back home from school at the end of the day. As they reach the edge of the forest near Shigure's property, an expensive-looking back town car could be seen parked with an unfamiliar driver at the wheel.

Akimoto was a bit surprised to see it given that automobiles didn't usually stick around in this area. But the moment Kyo saw it, he immediately recognized what was happening and grabbed Akimoto's wrist.

With an angrily panicked look on his face and gritted teeth, he tried to pull her away. "We need to leave."

"What? Why?"

"I'll tell you later, we need to—"

"Yes, Kyo, why are you turning your back on me?" said a voice.

Kyo's eyes became wide and he clenched his opposite hand into a fist. He held onto Akimoto's wrist tighter.

Akimoto looked down at his grip in concern. "What's wrong?"

From the back of the car stepped out a tall, slender, beautiful young man with sleek black hair that hung in his face and down the back of his neck. He wore a long black shirt and black pants. His eyes were cold and calculating. The man closed the door and walked over to Akimoto and Kyo.

Kyo, while still holding on to Akimoto's wrist, positions himself in front of her to where his body slightly shields hers.

Akimoto watches Kyo's reaction and follows his gaze to the man approaching them. _Who is this guy? And why does he scare Kyo this much?_

The man stops a couple feet away from them and stands with a sly smile. "Don't be rude, Kyo. Why don't you introduce us?"

Kyo hisses. "Why are you here?"

"Oh Kyo," he shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "That's not an introduction, in fact, that was quite rude. How about I go ahead and pretend that you didn't hear what I said. Now...." He glares at Kyo. "Introduce. Us."

Kyo bites down hard and his body stiffens.

"Are you Akito...Sohma?" Akimoto asks.

The man looks at her and inspects her top to bottom. He then smiles. "Such a smart girl. You must be the infamous Miss Akimoto Tsubaki. I've heard quite a lot about you." He extends his hand out for her to shake.

Before Akimoto had a chance to reciprocate the greeting, Kyo uses his body to block Akito's access to Akimoto even more.

Akito drops his hand and narrows his eyes at Kyo. "I would have thought that Kazuma taught you more gentlemanly manners than that. Apparently, all that time was wasted on you picking up even more unattractive qualities." This made Kyo's body tense up even more. Akito sighed. "Then again, you are the cat, so I shouldn't have had such high expectations."

At this point, Akimoto was also starting to become a bit mad. _What gives him the right to speak to Kyo like that? And why is Kyo allowing him to say that?_

"My apologies Miss Akimoto Tsubaki. Kyo isn't exactly the best person to represent our family. I assure you: we are much more esteemed than what he advertises." Akito smiles again. "However, I will answer your question, Kyo. I came to visit Miss Akimoto Tsubaki here. I felt it was time to meet the one I've given a home to." He then addressed Akimoto. "It's also thanks to me that you have a school to go to in order to educate yourself."

 _Oh, that's right. They had to get permission from Akito in order for me to be allowed to stay. He's also probably been made aware of the Hatori situation. How much more does he know?_ Just as Akimoto was about to respond, a sudden, familiar chill crawled down her spine. Alarmed, she looked around the area. _It can't be...those shadow creatures from the Feudal Era? Here?_ This feeling was unmistakable. But why would they be in this world? How are they in this world?

After seeing how distracted Akimoto was, Akito became annoyed. "I was talking to you, Miss Akimoto Tsubaki. I'd appreciate it if you didn't ignore me."

Akimoto partially ignored him. _I have better things to worry about than you right now. You both might be in danger if what I'm feeling is accurate._

With his frustration growing, Akimoto takes a step towards her. Kyo extends his hand out to Akito in a defensive manner. "Don't you dare do anything to her."

Akito have Kyo a chilling amused look. " _You_ are telling _me_ what to do? I think you've forgotten just _who_ I am and _what_ you are." Without warning, Akito reaches out to the side of Kyo's head and grabs a handful of his hair, pulling at it aggressively.

Akimoto snaps her head towards their direction. She gasps. "Kyo!"

Akito pulls Kyo's head towards his while Kyo winces from the pain. "You've been spending all of your free time with this outsider. You don't even have any idea who or what she really is. And yet you're choosing to let her influence you so much that you'd fail to keep your eyes on what matters most to you: your freedom. You'll never defeat Yuki at this pace. You're lucky I'm even agreeing to our wager. I should just break it off right now because of this little stunt you're trying to pull. Is that what you want me to do Kyo? Is it?!"

"Let him go."

At that moment, Akito looked up and over at Akimoto who was holding up her microphone to her lips. Kyo back at her with shock and confusion.

Akito released Kyo's hair and straightened up. He put his hand over his mouth as he laughed in amusement. "What is this? Are you going to sing me into submission? How ridiculous!" He continued to laugh.

Akimoto wore her intimidating, stoic face and didn't break it for a second. "Now back away from him."

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Akito said, "You don't seriously think that you can do anything to me, do you? Keep your pathetic threats to yourself." He glared at them both. "I'm now starting to consider not allowing you to stay at Shigure's house anymore. However, if you were to tell me that this whole thing was a joke to get me to laugh, and if you properly apologize, then I might allow you to stay." He eyes Kyo. "Besides," he lifted a fist into the air and pulled it back, "Kyo belongs to me and I can do whatever I want t _o my things!"_

Just as Akito was about to throw a punch at Kyo, Akimoto activated her powers and shot out a large burst of wind towards him that forcefully pushed him back about 30 yards, causing his body to roll on the pavement once he finally hit the ground. Akimoto knew to hold back since he was just a human, so Akito was still very much alive, just struggling a bit to stand up.

"A witch...YOU'RE A WITCH!" Akito shouted as he had difficulty getting back onto his feet. The driver in the car immediately got out to check to see if Akito was okay. Akito pushed him away as he shot daggers at Akimoto and aggressively pointed at her. "YOU'RE JUST AS MUCH OF A MONSTER AS HE IS! STAY AWAY FROM ME AND MY FAMILY!"

Akimoto, who was still glowing, took a step towards him which made Akito back up a bit with a horrified expression.

Before Akimoto could take another step, Kyo pulled her back. He avoided eye contact with her and kept his head low. All he could say was "Let's go," as he tugged on her wrist. Hearing his lowered tone, she lowered her wand and stopped glowing.

The two of them ran off towards Shigure's house without looking back at Akito.

The chill on Akimoto's spine went away.

=============================================

Once the two of them reached the front of the house, Kyo released Akimoto's wrist and put some distance between him and her. He turned his back to her and said nothing.

Akimoto watched him with guilt. After a few moments of silence, she tried to speak up. "Kyo, I—"

"How long have you been able to do that?" He asked harshly.

She looked down and away. "...the whole time."

"So, you pretended to be weak the whole time just to get me to spend time with you?! Did you enjoy seeing my concern?!" He started to shout.

"N-no! That's not it—"

"Or did you just not want to put in the effort of protecting yourself and thought I'd be fun to make me your lacky?"

"Kyo, please—"

"Who even are you?! _What_ are you?"

"I...I'm..." The weight of guilt on Akimoto felt so strong that she had a hard time answering him.

Eventually, Shigure came out of the house, looking puzzled. "What's going on out here?" He looked at both Kyo and Akimoto.

"Tch. Just leave me alone. I'm done with you," Kyo said as he angrily pushed past Shigure and into the house.

After a beat, Akimoto chased after him. "Wait!" Once she reached him, she grabbed at his shirt.

"Let go of me!"

"I'm sorry!" She shouted back. Shigure, in interest, poked his head into the house. Akimoto looked back at him and then to Kyo. "I'm sorry for keeping secrets. I'll tell you guys everything... Just please, hear me out."


	9. Secrets That She Keeps

Shigure, Yuki, Akimoto, and Kyo all sat around the table. Kyo looked especially frustrated and Akimoto still had a guilty frown. Yuki and Shigure had no idea what was going on, only that Akimoto wanted to talk.

"Hopefully this is about whatever you two were arguing about earlier," Shigure said with intrigue.

Yuki gave a confused glance. "They were arguing?"

"I'm sorry, you guys," Akimoto says with her head down, avoiding eye contact with everyone and having a defeatist tone. "I wasn't allowed to tell you everything about myself when I first arrived and I'm sure that caused a bit of distress. But it looks like that doesn't matter anymore..."

"What do you mean?" Yuki asked.

Akimoto sighed. "I'm not from this world."

This revelation made Yuki's eyes widen in shock and Shigure look even more interested. Kyo rested his chin on his hand and looked away, still peeved and pretending not to be surprised.

"Ah, I suspected as much," Shigure said, nodding. "After all, you did sort of imply that was the case when we first met."

Yuki gave him a skeptical look, "Even you had your doubts though. I'm sure we all did."

"The world I come from is very similar to yours. There's a Japan and America and all the same continents and such. Some specific details are different, but it's basically just a different version of your world."

"Like a parallel dimension?" Shigure asked.

"I guess? But I'm not entirely sure... All of this stuff is still pretty new to me."

"How come you came to our world?" Yuki asked.

"I didn't really come here voluntarily. Back in my world, I wished for something and this magical floating old lady came along and promised to help me achieve my goal if I did what she asked."  
  
Yuki blinked in bewilderment. "A magical...floating...old lady?"

Akimoto nodded. "Her name is Taiitsukun. She's probably the one who convinced Hatori to not erase my memories. She pulled a similar stunt in the last world I was in."

"The last world?" Shigure asked. "How many have you been to?"

"Not including my own? Two. When I first arrived, I was wearing clothes native to that location. Temporally, it was very different from your world. But to answer the earlier question: I simply go wherever Taiitsukun wants me to go. If I don't, she'll send me back to my world."

"What's wrong with that?" Yuki asked.

Akimoto was silent for a few seconds.

"There's nothing left for me there."

"Oh..." Yuki's tone turned to sympathy.

"So that old lady basically came and rescued you, huh? Does that make her your fairy god mother?" Shigure asked in an amused tone.

She blinked. _Huh. I never thought of her that way..._ "You could say that I guess..." She continued to look down. "I'm just looking for a more ideal situation..."

"Alright, that explains _where_ you came from, and guessing from the 'magical floating old lady,' it was magic that sent you here, yes?" Shigure surmised.

"Yes."

"Your glowing: is that magic too?"

"From what I was told, magic is just the ability to manipulate the different energies that make up our worlds. So magic is more like an action that someone does than a thing that someone has. As for why I can glow? That's unclear to me. Taiitsukun hasn't explained the phenomenon. I wasn't born with these symbols. It wasn't until Taiitsukun unlocked my powers that they appeared. They show up both whenever I'm doing magic or just if I will them to." She demonstrates by making the glowing symbols appear along with her pupil and the ring around her pupil. "I have no idea why my being in this form prevents you all from transforming."

"What do those symbols mean?"  
  
"Unclear."

"You said you can do magic?" Shigure asked.

"Yes."

"What can you do?"

She places her wand on the table. "I'm able to manipulate the elements water, fire, earth, and wind."

Shigure gently takes her wand and inspects it. "And what's this? A microphone?"

"My wand. Taiitsukun created it from the energy inside of me. I use for better control of my abilities."

Shigure smirks with a gleam in his eye while holding up the wand. "Remarkable! A wand and everything! It's in the shape of a microphone which is absolutely adorable. An actual magical girl is in my house. And they said dreams like this could never come true!"

Yuki sighed in exasperation. "Please put that down."

Kyo pounded his fist onto the table and the whole thing shook. In anger, he asked in a raised voice, "Why the heck did you keep all of this a secret? Just to look more pathetic so that we would pity you and take you in?"

Akimoto's frown deepened. "No! I never wanted to put you all in this position to begin with, but Taiitsukun told me to keep my powers a secret. She told me that the moment I fell into your house. Like I told you before, if I don't do what she says, she'll either make me leave this world, or she'll send me back to my own. I couldn't risk that." She finally looks up at him with a frustrated expression. "I told you all to just let me go and I told _you_ Kyo that I could handle myself. But you all insisted and you didn't believe me!"

"Well now we know why! Because you're a dirty liar who can't be trusted!" Kyo snapped back.

Seeing the distress on Akimoto's face, Yuki tried to calm Kyo down. "Kyo, you're out of line. Can't you see she's making an effort—"

"Stay out of this, rat!" Kyo growled. "This doesn't concern you." He turned back to Akimoto and lifted himself up and out of his seat. "Why did you let those jerks at the school get you? Why did you let them bruise you and push you around? You could have dealt with them the same way you dealt with Akito!"

Hearing this revelation shocked Yuki and Shigure. "She hurt Akito?"

"Is he okay?" Shigure asked in concern.

She turned to him. "Yeah, I think so. I held back. I only pushed him away from Kyo. He was about to strike Kyo...I had to do _something_."

Shigure stood up and excused himself from the table. He said he had to make a phone call.

Akimoto sighed as she sunk slightly in her spot. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt him, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing."

"It's okay," Yuki said, visibly uncomfortable while trying to be sympathetic. "You were trying to protect someone."  
  
"No, it's not okay!" Kyo yelled. "Why now? Why was that the reason you decided to reveal yourself? Maybe you're just like Akito and didn't want your plaything to be messed with by someone else."

"That's not why!"

"Then why didn't you fight back before?!"  
  
"Because I deserved the punishment, okay?!" She shouted out.

Everyone in the room went silent. Kyo, eyes widened in surprise, sat back in his spot.

After realizing her outburst, Akimoto's face went red and she proceeded to bury her face in her hands. She muttered, "I hurt people when I don't mean to. There's a dark force around me that can activate when I'm upset. It could either force people to the ground against their will or make them experience intense negative emotions like anger or depression. Sometimes both effects happen at once."

Kyo gasped. "Wait...then that means..."

"Kyo...you were the first victim of my darkness when I entered this world. The reason you became so angry and attacked me...was because of me...and my inability to control myself." She took her hands off of her face and looked down at her palms, which were still glowing with the symbols. "Unlike these new powers, I've had to deal with that dark force for as long as I can remember. Because of me, people got hurt by being slammed to the ground without warning or they'd have to relive their darkest and most painful emotions. It causes complete chaos." The boys were watching her and listening intently. "My second victims in this world were the people in my class and those girls you introduced me to Yuki. I lost control of my emotions and people got hurt." She looked up at Kyo. "That's why those guys were trying to hurt me. They were only defending their girlfriends and protecting them from..." she looked down and away, "...a monster..." She remembered what Akito called her. "...or a witch. Whatever I am."

Shigure finally came back and rejoined them at the table. He looked cheerful. "Turns out that Akito is okay. He's just a bit shaken up and sore. He wasn't exactly in the greatest mood to talk." He cleared his throat. "So, what did I miss?"

Akimoto sighed again. "I'm being plagued by a force of darkness that causes people to suffer whenever I'm upset. Kyo felt it on that first night I arrived, which was why he attacked me."

"Basically, she's cursed," Yuki said.

Akimoto blinked in astonishment. "Cursed?"

Shigure nodded in agreement. "Can this force happen at least partially against your will?"

"Yeah...I mean, I can control it sometimes, but most of the time, it activates when I don't want it to, and I can't always turn it off when I'd like."

"And she had it with her since she was young," Yuki added.

"Ah yes, an unwanted phenomenon that consistently causes grief and misfortune to you and others around you. Sounds like a curse to me!" Shigure said. "And believe us, we're kind of the experts on curses," he chuckled.

Akimoto looked down. _Huh...a curse...it feels weird to finally be able to label it as something other than some ambiguous darkness._ "Well, curse or not, if I didn't exist, then so many people wouldn't have gotten hurt." Yuki and Shigure look at her with sympathy. Kyo simply looks away, his face unreadable as he searches through his own thoughts. "That's why I was willing to let those guys at school hurt me. I hurt the people they cared about and... for all the pain and suffering I've caused over the years, I was okay with getting some bruises here and there. I would have never allowed them to mortally wound me, but I felt that some of their violence was justified."

"Miss Tsubaki, that's an exceptionally unhealthy way to look at things," Yuki told her as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't deserve to be punished for something you had no control over. I'm not saying that those people don't have a right to be angry, but there should be a better way to resolve those feelings than with you suffering."

"Logically, I know that. But I feel otherwise," she plainly told him. She gave a bitter grin. "I know an old friend of mine would have reprimanded me for doing that..." she thought of Inuyasha. She frowned. "If it weren't for him, those guys at school would have done far worse to me...and I would have let them."

"Miss Tsubaki..."  
  
"I wasn't going to let Kyo get hurt, though," she said. Kyo looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I never felt like he was in danger against those guys, so I didn't feel the need to intervene. With Akito, though, something just felt...wrong. I had to do something. I didn't care about Taiitsukun's rules—I just wanted to protect him." She blushed as she looked down. "Even though it'll probably get me kicked out of this world, I don't regret it. I won't...I won't turn my back on someone who needs me." Her eyes trail up towards Kyo. "I'm _really_...sorry...about everything Kyo."

After a moment of silence, Kyo calmly stands up and walks away from the table. "I've heard enough."

Akimoto watches as he walks away. She could feel the dark cloud of sadness looming over her as the blatant rejection slapped her in the face. Her lips tremble. She quickly stands up from the table, avoiding the gazes of Yuki and Shigure.

"Please excuse me," she whispered.

"Going up to your room?" Shigure asked.

"No. I need to leave the house before my curse affects you guys. I'm sorry!" She runs out of the dining area and leaves the house, running into the moonlit forest.

Yuki looks out of the door with concern. "What a mess this all turned out to be..." he said.

"True, it is messy," Shigure agreed. "But look on the bright side. Now that everything is laid out on the table and there aren't anymore secrets, whatever bonds there are can be mended even stronger."

Yuki gave him a sideways glance. "That's awfully poetic of you."  
  
Shigure sniffed and grinned with confidence. "Well, I am a writer, after all."

"I'm glad we know the truth and honestly, it's a lot to take in. We'll just have to take things day by day."  
  
"That's all you really can do, right?" Shigure asked.

Yuki hesitates. "...is...is Akito really okay?"

"He'll be fine. He's tough."

"Okay, but... _will_ he be okay?"

"I guess we'll find out!" Shigure said coyly.

Yuki grimaced and looked insanely uncomfortable. _That's what I'm afraid of,_ he thought.

================================

Later that night, Yuki left the house with a blanket, hoping to find Akimoto. After walking a ways into the forest, he found an odd rock structure that he had never seen before. It looked like a little house or shed. He found Akimoto tucked under it, hugging her knees into her chest.

"Miss Tsubaki?"

"Yuki!" She was surprised to see him there, so she jumped a little.

He squatted down and met her at her level. "I was getting worried, so I came out to find you."

"...thanks...I guess..." she said in a soft tone.

He felt the rock structure. "Did you make this with your powers?"

She nodded.

"That's impressive!" He said cheerfully. "Your abilities seem quite fascinating. Would you mind showing them to me one day? Of course, only when you're up to it."

"...sure...I guess..."

"Hmm..." he looked around. "I don't feel any intense negative emotions and I don't feel like I'm being forced to the ground. Unless it was your magic that got me to squat down here with you," he said jokingly.

"...it comes and goes. I can't always predict when it'll flare up, so you should probably leave." Her frown deepened. "It's an unpleasant experience—just ask Kyo."

"Miss Tsubaki..." Yuki sat next to Akimoto and put on a sympathetic smile. "Don't mind the attitude of that cat. He can be like a child sometimes—not knowing how to process all of his emotions." Akimoto sighed. Yuki continued, "I do believe he heard you though. I think he felt what you said and is still processing it. He might be rude, stubborn, impulsive, brutish, and immature, but even he can see that you were stuck between a rock and a hard place." He smiles as he gestures to the rock hut. Akimoto gives an unintentional small chuckle. This makes her blush and cover her face again. She's able to regain her composure and put back on her stoic poker face. "Just give him time," Yuki says.

He then stands up and hands Akimoto the blanket since she insisted on staying there for the night. She thanked him.

Just as Yuki was walking away, he told Akimoto something. "Shigure and I have agreed that we won't tell anyone your secret."

Akimoto already suspected that they were decent people, so this didn't surprise her that much. Nevertheless, she said "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Unfortunately, we can't guarantee that Akito won't say anything...I think Shigure might talk to him about it—without giving away too many details, of course." He gave her a reassuring smile. "These are _your_ abilities, and this is _your_ journey, so you have a right to reveal what you want to reveal on your own time." He continues to walk towards the house. "Goodnight Miss Tsubaki."

In a quiet voice, to where Yuki couldn't hear, Akimoto replied, "Goodnight Yuki...

...and thank you."


	10. Teardrops on My Guitar

FLASHBACK

Akimoto, as a little girl, is crying in the lap of her older sister, Saoirse.

Saoirse wears a sympathetic smile as she lovingly pats and strokes her sister's head. "I'm so sorry, Aki. Those kids have no idea just how precious you are. They're weak and pathetic."

Akimoto only continued to cry without saying anything.

"You'll only continue to make things worse for them. They might as well say good-bye to whatever semblance of peace they once had."

Akimoto looked up at her sister, her expression even more distraught as her lips trembled.

Saoirse kissed her forehead. "You're a burden on others, Aki. But you can't help it. It's not your fault." She held her sister's head in her hands and tenderly gave her eye contact. "They'll all be too distracted by their problems to see just how amazing you are. But don't worry, I'm here for you. I will always love you more than anyone else. You'll never be a burden to me."

END FLASHBACK

For the next few days following the reveal, Kyo refused to talk to Akimoto or even give her eye contact. She wouldn't exactly try to engage with him as she didn't want to press him any further. He had done so much for her and she technically betrayed him by keeping that secret. She had already said sorry to him, so she knew it was up to him if whatever relationship they had were to continue.

Due to her distress, Akimoto wasn't able to sleep. When she wasn't lying in bed staring at the ceiling in darkness, she was up cooking a box lunch hoping that she would be able to share it with Kyo the next day. Whenever she went to the school's rooftop, she'd always hope she'd find him there waiting for her or that he'd join her eventually.

But he wouldn't.

So, she ate the lunches by herself. Day after day.

During dinner time, the four residents would eat together around the table. The atmosphere was tense and uncomfortable between Akimoto and Kyo. Shigure would sometimes try to lighten the mood by telling a joke, but no one laughed. When he tried to include Akimoto and Kyo in his shenanigans, they would ignore him.

Yuki began to talk to Akimoto more often to try and lift her spirits. Akimoto appreciated the gesture—said gesture might have been an act of pity for all she knew, but any bit of sympathy was nice. Nevertheless, the sting of the whole situation still coursed through her heart. Besides, Yuki couldn't be around as much as he wanted due to his student council duties, so Akimoto was often left all alone.

All alone...just like old times.

During another night, Akimoto was once again preparing a box lunch. The house was quiet except for the sounds of cutlery and the like.

Akimoto just could not get Kyo out of her head. He was all she thought about and the more she thought about it, the more it hurt.

It seemed like they were becoming friends. They were talking, they were hanging out. They were eating together. Akimoto was still pretty new to the whole "friendship" thing, but from what her limited knowledge said, that was the beginning of one.

And she blew it.

It wasn't even by her own will that this whole thing blew up. Taiitsukun had set her up to fail. And for what? What was this supposed to teach her?

But what was Akimoto supposed to expect?

_Saoirse, I'm still causing trouble for people._

_I was being selfish. I should have insisted more on leaving the house. I should have insisted more on Kyo not protecting me. Me wanting to be around others is only creating a burden for these people. How foolish of me to think that after finally tasting sincere friendship for the first time that I'd be able to recreate such a fantastic event._

_Inuyasha, Shippo, I messed up. I got complacent and messed up. I got used to people valuing my existence despite my curse and wanting me around. You two were my one and only friends...I miss you!_

This whole time, Akimoto had gone without crying over the drama with Kyo. She took it like how she took most things in her life: she tried to convince herself that this was mundane, and this didn't matter—like she didn't care. But after not sleeping for so long and having such negative emotions build up and build up, there was only so much she could suppress.

Tears started to run down her cheeks as she continued to cook.

_I was so close! I was so close to having another friend._

_Why am I even in this world?!_

She sniffs and then shuts her eyes tight as her eyes sting from the tears. And then...

...there was a sharp pain.

She had accidentally cut her finger with the knife. In pain and alarm, she dropped the knife onto the counter and held her founded finger tightly with her other hand. She then inspects her wound, watching the blood as it trickles out. Noticing the knife, she picks it up and stares at the blade, contemplating.

After bending her wrist and shifting the angle of the blade, she sees the reflection of someone else in it. Turning around swiftly, she sees Kyo standing there looking concerned.

He looks at her teary, red puffy face and looks down at the bloodied knife as well as her finger.

He sighs and scratches his head. "Jeez, I thought you knew what you were doing in the kitchen. You know you're supposed to chop the food, right? Not your finger."

Initially, Akimoto is amazed that he's talking to her, then she remembers that she's upset and crying. She turns away from him.

"Leave me alone," She tells him. "I don't want my curse to affect you again. Sorry I bothered you." She tried to make her voice monotone, but there was a crack in it.

Instead of acknowledging what she said, Kyo opened some cabinets and found a first aid kit. He approached her with the bandage and antiseptic. He held his hand out to her. "Let me see it."

She turned her head away. "Just go away! I can handle it!"

He started to raise his voice as well. "Yeah?! Well, so can I! You aren't the only tough one around here, ya know. Thinking you're so high 'n mighty with your fancy magical powers. Get over yourself."

That made Akimoto silent.

"You're still a person with feelings and with a body that can get hurt. So, top being so darn stubborn and let me help you." He reached over and grabbed her hand and proceeded to tend to it.

She could feel her heart beating hard in her chest along with her stomach doing flips. She still refused to look at him. "...my curse—"

"I can handle your stupid curse, alright? I can take it." He looks down at the rosary beads around his wrist for a moment. "Yeah, what you did to me wasn't great and I'd like to never experience it again. But, even if it happens again, I'm not going anywhere, so stop telling me to leave." He continues to fix her hand up. "I know you didn't ask to be cursed and you didn't ask for this mess."

Akimoto's lips tremble as she tries to stop more tears from flowing.

"And if I go berserk again because of your curse, just use your darn powers and protect yourself. Don't be stupid."

"K....K..." Akimoto tries to say his name, but its increasingly hard to hold back the tears.

After wrapping her finger up, Kyo starts to help her cook the food. He tells her, "I think there's some disinfectant under the sink. Use that to clean your blood off the counter. Then wash the blade of the knife with soap and hot water. Do you think you can handle that, Aki?"

Akimoto's eyes widen as her heart skips a beat. _He said my name! That's the first time he..._

She complied with his instructions and continues to avoid eye contact. All she could do was nod slightly and say, "Yeah."

After a few moments of silence between them, Kyo says, "No more secrets, okay?"  
  
She sniffs. "Okay."

Unbeknownst to them, Shigure and Yuki were at the top of the steps, eavesdropping. They both smiled contently.

===========================================================

On that next day of school, Akimoto and Kyo are eating lunch on the roof together. This time, however, they are joined by Yuki who had some free time and wanted to spend some time with Akimoto as well.

Kyo was annoyed by this. "Stay away, rat. You're not invited."

Yuki answered with a blasé tone. "I'm just as allowed on this roof as you are. Besides, I've been curious about where you had been meeting with Miss Tsubaki this whole time." He smiled at Akimoto. "May I join you today?"

Kyo immediately says no, but Akimoto says she doesn't mind. Kyo shoots her a look and then begins glaring at Yuki as he sits next to Akimoto with his own lunch. Yuki ignores the glares.

"I was hoping to get to know you some more, Miss Tsubaki. Would you mind if I asked you some more questions?" He asked nicely.

"See, Aki?!" Kyo pointed an accusatory finger at Yuki. "He's only here to interrogate you! I say you blow him off the roof with your magic. Or if you don't want to," he lifts up a fist, "I will."

"Oh, hush. As if you weren't going to ask her anything. Stop pretending like you're so much above me. And I know your brain is the size of an actual feline's, but try to remember that she's trying to keep her powers a secret. Don't you think other students would notice if I spontaneously flew off the roof?"

That only ticked off Kyo even more. Just as Kyo was preparing to stand up in an offensive stance, Akimoto held her palm up to him as if to say "stop."

"I don't mind if he asks questions, Kyo. I don't mind if either of you do. You have a right to know after all the trouble I've caused. It's okay," she told him.

He immediately calmed down and sat back in his spot, scowling.

Yuki smiles at her again. "Thank you!" He thinks for a moment before asking. "So, what was the last world you were in like?"

She goes on to tell them about the Feudal Era and how it was a lot less technologically advanced and how there were demons running around everywhere.

"Demons? Like...actual demons?"

She thought about it. "I think these types of demons are a lot less traditional than what we're accustomed to. They're more akin to monsters, I guess."

This grabs Kyo's interest.

Yuki gasped. "That must have been terrifying. How did you survive in that kind of environment?"

"When I first arrived, it _was_ terrifying. I had no real way to defend myself because I didn't know how to use my powers yet. This giant centipede demon tried to kill me." She showed them the scar on her leg left from the bite mark. "It nearly ripped off my leg."

"What happened?" Yuki asked in suspense.

She gave a small smile as she looked up at the sky and reminisced. "A half-dog demon named Inuyasha saved me."

"A demon saved you?"  
  
"He wasn't a full-fledged demon. He's half human, half dog demon. He looks like a regular young man, but with claws and dog ears. He killed the centipede demon before it could do any more damage."

"So, there are good demons then?"

She nodded. "There are. I didn't know that Inuyasha was good at the time since right after he saved me, he threatened to kill me if I didn't give him an item he wanted. My curse then kicked in and slammed him to the ground."

"Why're you smiling if that guy tried to kill you?" Kyo asked, finally participating in the discussion.

"Inuyasha and I eventually became friends, so I know that he wouldn't have killed me for such selfish reasons. He's a good guy with morals, even if he won't admit that he has those morals."

"How did you manage to befriend a demon?"  
  
" _Half-demon_ ," she corrected. "Although, we did come to befriend a full-fledged fox demon named Shippo. He was just a scared, lonely child, so we let him join our little group. Over time and after sharing many experiences, we grew to be friends who trusted and protected one another."

Yuki smiled as he watched her. "They must really mean something to you. I've never seen you smile for such a long period of time before."  
  
Akimoto blinked in surprise and then blushed. After taking a deep breath, she put back on her stoic poker face.

Yuki chuckled. "It's too late, I already saw it. It's in my memory forever now!"

Even with her stoic face, Akimoto could not stop blushing.

Still amused, Yuki says, "It's nice finally getting to know the real you, Miss Tsubaki. Your secret kept you so quiet and reserved that I couldn't form a proper opinion about you."

She looked down and away, still blushing. "So...what's your opinion now?"

"You seem really pleasant to me!"

Akimoto begins to wonder if all of this is okay—if talking so much and letting them really know about her is okay. It was a different experience; being encouraged to talk like this. She never really had very much to talk about, and even if she did, no one was there to listen. She didn't even talk so extensively with Inuyasha. Their relationship came from understanding one another and being comfortable with each other's presence. But this was different. These people were eager to listen to her stories and she actually wanted to tell them. She had exciting and good memories to share for once and it felt good talking about her time in the Feudal Era to someone. 

However...

Will all of this be for naught when Taiitsukun inevitably takes her away? Will she even be taken away? If, by some chance, she hasn't blown her mission, would it be worth it to stay with the Sohmas? There was still plenty of time for her to mess up things even more. And even if these people were like Inuyasha and Shippo who stayed with her despite her curse, she didn't like the idea of hurting them.

_I know I shouldn't get attached. Be nice. Be honest. Be friendly. Enjoy yourself. But don't get attached._

Kyo growls in frustration. "You're making her uncomfortable, rat! Stop saying such embarrassing things!"

Yuki gives him an apathetic look. "Why does it bother you so much?"

"I uh..." Akimoto tries to change the subject. Kyo and Yuki both look at her. "There's more...about my time in the Feudal Era. I learned that apparently...I'm not...I'm not..." She thought about the ramifications of what she's about to say.

"You're not what?"  
  
She inhales and then exhales a deep sigh. "I'm not a...human..."

"What?!" They both say in surprise.

"Apparently..." She adds quietly...

"What make you think you aren't human?" Yuki asked.

"A few demons have confirmed as such...and technically so has Taiitsukun."

"How do you know that they weren't lying?"

"I've heard it from several sources who hadn't interacted prior. Besides," she points to herself. "I glow."

"I mean, we turn into animals and we're still human," Kyo said.

"Yeah but...there's more to it than that," Akimoto responded. "I don't have the scent of a human. And there was this one time I was protecting Inuyasha and Shippo. I stayed up all night using my powers against a hoard of demons. Eventually, the surface of my skin cracked all across my body. It's like my body was decaying rapidly or breaking like a porcelain doll. Instead of seeing blood and bones and stuff, there was just a void inside of me. I have no idea what that meant." She looked up at Kyo. "You saw me cut my finger; I _can_ bleed. But when my skin cracked that day, it almost seemed like this body was just a shell containing something...I don't know..." She addressed the both of them. "Does it freak you out that I'm not human?"

Yuki thinks for a second before saying, "It's certainly...a bit shocking to consider that I'm talking to another intelligent lifeform that is so human-like, but I can't say that it bothers me. Whatever you are doesn't make you any less you."

"Like I said, we turn into animals, I don't think we can judge," Kyo said. "So, do you have any idea what you are?"

She shook her head. "None of the demons could figure it out. I'm pretty sure Taiitsukun knows, but she doesn't want to tell me for some reason."

"Your fairy godmother sucks," Kyo said plainly. Akimoto tried to stifle a giggle.

"If I may ask: why don't you want people to see you smiling or laughing?" Yuki asked.

That question caught Akimoto off-guard. "Uh..." She knew the answer but didn't want to say it out loud. "Um..." She started to fidget with the cloth of her skirt as she avoided their gazes.

After a few moments of Akimoto struggling to answer, Yuki gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's okay. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Akimoto breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

The three took a break to continue eating their lunches.

Eventually, Akimoto asks: "How come...you two fight so much? You're family; shouldn't you get along?"

Kyo and Yuki stopped eating and glared at each other in silence.

Akimoto looked down at her food. "Never mind. Sorry for asking."

Kyo clenched his teeth in anger, "Because he's a stupid rat who always gets what he wants and thinks he's better than everyone else."

Yuki returns with, "Well he's a stubborn, violent cat with no tact or appreciation for what he gets in life."

_Okay...? I already knew those were your feelings. But why—_

Kyo lifts a fist up to Yuki as his anger grows. "Appreciation?! Appreciate what?! I don't know if you've noticed, _Prince_ , but not everyone is so close to God and admired. Life must be _so_ darn hard for you! Just like a real rat, you're nothin' but a pest."

"Wait..." _I didn't mean for things to escalate._

"Jumping to conclusions—color me surprised," Yuki said sarcastically. "Have you ever stopped to consider that other people have problems besides you? Oh, that's right. You're a cat which means you're only capable of self-appreciation."

"Guys..." Akimoto tried to interrupt.

Kyo jumps to his feat and steps towards Yuki in a threatening gesture. "That's big talk coming from Akito's favorite. View must be pretty darn nice from that pedestal of yours."

Akimoto continued to try. "Guys."

Yuki reciprocated and stood up to meet Kyo. "Stop making assumptions when you don't know the full story. It only makes you look like an even bigger fool. You're honestly not even worth the effort."

"What did you say?!" Kyo yelled as he prepared to throw a punch at Yuki. But then...

"Enough!" Akimoto had taken out her wand, placed her fingers in her drink, and used her powers to manipulate the boys' drinks to float up and splash the both of them in their faces.

The two of them, now with wet faces, looked down at Akimoto.

"Please stop," she tells them with a lowered tone. She stops glowing. Akimoto thinks about her mother and father who used to fight and be angry over many things too often. The fighting between these two cousins struck a little too close to home.

And just like with her parents, this fight was her fault too.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up just...please stop. We were having a nice lunch." _I know their fight is none of my business and that it's selfish of me to interfere just because it's uncomfortable for me._

Yuki and Kyo continued to glare at one another.

_I triggered this confrontation, but...something deeper is going on here. My curse didn't activate, and yet they have these intense negative feelings—_

Just then, the familiar chill went down Akimoto's spine. Her eyes widen in alarm and she springs up to her feet. The boys snap out of their anger look at her with concern as she runs to the edge of the roof, looking around for the source of that bad energy.

"What's wrong, Miss Tsubaki?" Yuki asks.

"What're you looking for?" Kyo asks.

She ignores them as she continues to scan the area. After a few moments, the creepy feeling goes away. Her body automatically relaxes. She didn't even realize that she had tensed up.

"Aki?"

She steps away from the railing and shakes her head. "It's...it's uh..." _Should I really tell them that some shadow creatures from another world might be stalking me? They just got all riled up from that argument, I wouldn't want to add fear into the mix. I'll tell them when they need to know._ "I thought I heard something weird. Turns out it was nothing," she lied.

Yuki's shoulders relaxed as he had a smile of relief. "Did you do all that just to get our minds off of our fight?"

Akimoto blinked and paused for a moment. "Maybe."

"I think the water was enough," Kyo said, wiping his face with his sleeve, "You didn't need to worry us."

Akimoto looked down and away from them. "Sorry."

"You also wasted all the drinks we had," he added.

"Sorry again."

=========================================

After the school day had ended, Akimoto had gathered the three guys together just outside of Shigure's house.

"You guys checked?" She asked them.

"Yeah, there's no one in the area," Kyo confirmed.

"I didn't see anyone either," Yuki said.

"You may begin your demonstration," Shigure said with amused anticipation.

The glowing symbols appeared all over Akimoto's body. Her pupils glowed silver and a silver ring appeared around them. She showed them her powers and how she manipulated the elements. They saw how she effortlessly controlled the wind and streaks of silver fire. They also witnessed her stepping in a bucket of water for one foot while the other bare foot touched the grass below her. It was only then that her energy encased the earth and water for her to bend at her will. She had to explain that her main element was wind and that's why the other elements had silver aura around them whenever they were under her control. She was not super sure about the details regarding this.

Once the demonstration was over, the guys asked her why she had to put her foot in a bucket.

"For some reason, if I'm not directly feeling water or earth, my wind power completely takes over and I can't get a good grip on those elements," she said with an exasperated tone.

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be the same for fire?" Shigure asked.

"Yeah, you aren't sticking your hand in a flame, you can just do it," Kyo said.

"Um..." Akimoto thought for a moment. "I learned how to use my fire powers during a do or die situation. I just did it because I had to do it."

"If that's true, then you can do the same thing with water and earth," Yuki said. "It sounds to me like it's some kind of mental block preventing you from taking that next step."

"I hate to agree with him, but he's right," Kyo added. "It's all in your head."

Akimoto gave them a cynical look. "But...I tried to manipulate those elements without touching them and it didn't work. It wasn't until I was in physical contact that I figured them out."

Shigure nodded. "You got used to that set up and you've convinced yourself that it's the only way to make it work." He held his finder up as he explained. "I think you can think of it like this: each element is a different type of bicycle. For wind and fire, you were able to get onto the bicycle and ride them as the two-wheeler vehicle they're meant to be. But for water and earth, you kept falling every time you tried to ride them. So, you screwed on some training wheels and found that you could finally get somewhere with those."  
  
Kyo gave her an assured grin. "Then I guess it's time to help you take those training wheels off, huh?"

"What?" She asked them.

"I'm gonna help you learn to use your powers the right way; without a handicap. Free of charge!" Kyo confidently says. His saying so made her face heat up and stomach do a flip.

"I'll help too, however I can," Yuki added.

She blinked in disbelief. "But why? Why do you want to help me?"

"Well, you're one of us now," Yuki told her. "Besides, we can't just leave a damsel in distress." He winked at her.

"But...I'm not in distress..." She tried to tell them. "And really, I'm okay with how things are now. You don't need to—"

"Use your head, idiot," Kyo flicked her forehead. She winced. "What if you're ever stuck in a situation where there's no bucket of water around or if you can't touch any source of earth for some reason? You need to be able to use your powers at will whenever. It might save your life one day. We're doing this." He crosses his arms. "No excuses."

She looks around at the three of them and they're all giving her encouraging smiles. _They want to go out of their way for me...just...because?_

Akimoto closes her eyes and then sighs. "Inuyasha did say that I'd have to do this sooner or later." She opens her eyes. "Okay." She gives a slight bow. "Thank you for your help."

"Of course," Yuki says.

Akimoto says, in return, she'll make them a nice dinner that evening. They all accept her offer.

=====================================

In the house, Akimoto is preparing dinner. Kyo decided to help her even though she told him that he's already done enough for her. He simply tells her that he feels like cooking. This makes her blush and have a small smile.

Yuki and Shigure are hanging out at the table.

Akimoto begins to think about the same melody she'd hum to herself back when she was cooking alone.

"You know..." She says while still cooking, "When I was in elementary school, like early elementary school, we had to do a class project. The task was to design and build our dream castles. I don't remember why...maybe it was a medieval European unit or something." Akimoto would only look down at the food she was preparing and not look at the others as she spoke. "It was supposed to be a group project. Groups of two or three were to work together to design it." She looked sad. "Of course, no one wanted to work with me. Our teacher was about to make someone join my group, but I lied and told her I'd rather do it on my own. She reluctantly agreed." Akimoto made a small, sad smile. "So, I went home and started to plan what I thought my castle should look like. I had a hard time being creative, so I took out my toy guitar and started to strum random melodies off the top of my head."

"You can play the guitar?" Yuki asked.

"I've only ever played my toy guitar. After playing on it for so long, I was eventually able to figure out how to make any sound I wanted with it. I never had the chance to translate my knowledge to a life-size guitar. I have no idea if that would even work. Anyway, I'd start to strum and the longer I played, the more ideas I had for my castle. I was also incredibly aware of how alone I was. So, I'd start to imagine that my reflection was another little girl that I was building this castle with. I'd uh..." Akimoto blushes. "I'd start to sing a song that I made up during this process...it..." Her body trembled with nerves. "...it became my 'working song' from that point forward...at least for a good many years... Cooking for Kyo kind of reminded me of it all of a sudden..." She took a breath and released it slowly.

She began to sing.

Yuki and Shigure watch and listen with joy and interest. Kyo is silent from amazement as he looks over at her.

Akimoto thought back to herself as a child Akimoto strumming her guitar. She sings to the mirror and watches herself sing.

She could practically hear the melody of the strings in her head.

Akimoto imagines that she sings into a mirror, but her reflection is her younger self with the guitar.She then hums a small tune. The two of them sing together as if they're looking at each other.

Akimoto focuses back in on the moment in the kitchen with the Sohmas. The song ends. Still shaking from nerves, and still blushing, she looks over at Kyo.

He's giving her a gentle, sincere smile. She looks over at the others and they're doing the same. Her stomach is doing flips and she's still shaking like crazy, but she reciprocates with the biggest smile she's had in the longest time.


	11. Teach Me to Trust

As the days went by, Akimoto would continue to hang out with Kyo and even with Yuki too (sometimes). As far as training went, they would allow her physical contact with water and earth and then progressively lessened the amount of contact she was allowed to have. They of course tried to see what happened when immediately taking those training wheels away, and then they witnessed how her wind powers completely took over when she tried to use water or earth. The test would be for her to levitate a small stream of water or a small chunk of earth and have her maintain control over the element as she had less and less physical exposure to it. So, little by little, they would reduce the amount of exposure and see how well she fared, challenging her to use the lesser amount each time she used her powers. The change had to be gradual to get her used to not feeling as much of the element.

Every day after school, she trained. Yuki would help out if his student council duties ended soon enough. Shigure would watch whenever he got the chance as Akimoto’s powers continued to fascinate him.

Throughout the school day, Akimoto stayed completely aware of the fact that the other third-years were wary of her and avoided her. Even though the incident happened many weeks prior, she was still mostly known as the weird, dangerous girl who could hurt people without touching them. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise her if some of the second and first years heard about her.

But she didn’t care.

As long as she wasn’t hurting the other students, Akimoto didn’t really care about their opinions. They were completely justified in their fear and she silently encouraged them to keep their distance for their own sake. Their thoughts about her just didn’t sting as much now that she knew there were people out there who looked forward to being around her. Just as with the Feudal Era, she’s discovering that she is able to make meaningful connections with others and that not every interaction has to be negative. Even more than that, Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kyo all proved that there were people out there who would suffer from her curse and still want to be with her.

At present, no one met the criteria of her wish. These people who she considered friends were still very much in danger; at any moment they might feel despair, be forced to the ground, or both. 

She still feared for everyone’s safety. And in the present, she never wanted to hurt Kyo again, so them hanging out so often did make her wary and worried, but the part of her that desired to be around others who actually gave a darn kind of overruled her usually cautious nature.

One day, when Kyo and Akimoto were alone eating lunch and discussing her training, there was a bit of a surprise.

“Hey carrot-top! So, this is where you’ve been hiding out all the time!”

Hearing this girl’s voice made Kyo’s body stiffen up. He and Akimoto looked to see Arisa, Tohru, Saki, and Yuki approaching them with their lunches.

Kyo stood up and faced them in a threatening manner. “What the heck are you all doing here? No one invited you!”

“Relax, Red,” Arisa said as she patted his shoulder. “We just got curious and wanted to see where you always rushed off to.” She wrapped an arm around a smiling Tohru. “When we saw you run off, Tohru wondered if you were going to see that girl who’s always unconscious whenever you’re around. We just wanted to make sure you weren’t doing anything immoral.”  
  
“Anything like what?!” Kyo yelled at the accusation. He turned to Yuki. “Just couldn’t keep your darn mouth shut, could you?”  
  
Yuki looked offended. “Why’re you blaming me?”

“You’re the only one who knew we were up here!”

Yuki narrowed his eyes at Kyo. “You literally sprint towards this direction every single day. It doesn’t take a genius to see where you’re going. So no, I didn’t tell them. These ladies were kind enough to come check that you two were alright.”

Arisa turned to Akimoto. “Hey! It’s nice to see you in good health! I’m glad to finally confirm that you and Carrots here actually hang out and that he’s not some kind of stalkerish weirdo or something.”

“Who’re you callin’ a ‘stalkerish weirdo?!’” Kyo exploded. Arisa ignored him.

Tohru went up to Akimoto. “Do you mind if we sit here with you guys?”

Akimoto had a look of bewilderment. “Um…Are…you all friends of Kyo?”

Arisa shoved Kyo’s face away with her hand. “We’re his classmates. We’re actually friends of Yuki. But…Kyo is Yuki’s cousin, and has requested our help a couple of times, usually concerning you, so it’s hard not to have some kind of attachment to the guy.”

Akimoto blinked in concern and confusion. “Me? When did—”

“Wait,” Arisa squatted down to Akimoto’s level and pointed to herself. “Do you _not_ remember us?”

For a few moments, Akimoto thought about it. So much had happened since she arrived at that world that it was difficult to remember three random girls.

Saki sighed and said, “Allow me.” She walked up to Akimoto as Arisa moved out of the way. She squatted down to where she and Akimoto were at eye-level and making eye contact.

They stared into each other’s eyes. Akimoto attempted to look away in order to avoid the awkwardness, but Saki told her to keep looking.

“Tell me what you see.”

Akimoto, feeling uncomfortable, complied and continued to look. She eventually saw what looked like glowing green energy dancing behind Saki’s pupils.

Akimoto gasped. “Green…” The memories were flowing back of that day when she bumped into those girls after running away from those bullies.

Saki nodded slowly. “And yours is silver.”

Kyo and Yuki looked over at them in alarm. Someone else knew about Akimoto’s powers?

_That’s right…this girl is like me somehow. Just like how Kikyo was in the Feudal Era._

“But wait…” Akimoto said. “I…I thought you told me to stay away from you and your friends?”

Tohru looked at Saki with concern. “Hana, did you really tell her to stay away?”

Saki looked over at Tohru. “I wasn’t joking when I said that I wanted to keep you two safe.” She closed her eyes in exasperation. “But I would not stop you if your hearts desire was to come up here.” She opened up her eyes again to look at Akimoto. “You seem a bit more stable now. Can I trust you to be around my friends?”

Quickly, Kyo slid in between Akimoto and Saki, glaring at Saki. “Just how much about her do you know?”

Saki retorted in a monotone, “How much do _you_ know?”

“Alright, alright, break it up you two,” Arisa said. “We didn’t come up here to cause trouble.”

“Then why are you here?” Kyo asked in an annoyed tone.

“I told you: we came to see where you were and if your girlfriend was alright,” she said, plainly.

“She’s (I’m) not my (his) girlfriend!” Akimoto and Kyo yelled at the same time, both with slight blushes.

Arisa shrugged. “If you say so.” Then she spoke under her breath. “Only romantic couples sneak onto the roof to see each other every day to eat lunch with each other.”

Kyo hissed.

Tohru chimed in cheerfully. “Hana also mentioned before that Tsubaki was just like her. So, I just assumed that she must be a nice, reliable person just like Saki and I wanted to see her again!”

Arisa smiled. “Yeah, it was mostly Tohru that motivated us to come up here. We see Kyo everyday in class, but never get to see you, Akimoto. She was concerned about you and I guess I kind of was too.”

Akimoto blinked at Tohru in surprise. _Nice? Reliable?_ She stared at Tohru who was just beaming with good vibes and positivity. Akimoto and Tohru hadn’t even talked past one conversation and she was already convinced that Akimoto was a good person.

That’s rare. 

Usually the rumors make people think that Akimoto was dangerous or a bad influence. This was the first time someone thought something positive about her before really getting to know her. The universe was actually working against Akimoto in this situation. Her own friend tried to convince Tohru that Akimoto wasn’t good to be around. And yet Tohru still wanted to come see her.

_”Big Sis Aki!”_ Akimoto remembered the sound of a little girl’s voice from her past. Tohru kind of reminded Akimoto of her.

Akimoto then remembered a black smoke-like substance rising from the motionless body of a child.

Her eyes narrowed at the stinging memory.

Tohru was the exact kind of person she didn’t like to be around. To corrupt someone like Tohru with her curse just felt dirty. Well…dirtier than usual. She hoped that wouldn’t happen again.

Still smiling, Tohru sat down next to Akimoto. “Just in case you don’t remember, I’m Tohru Honda and these are my friends Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima. We’re first years. It’s nice to meet you!” She held out a hand and beamed. Akimoto stared at her hand.

Kyo could see Akimoto’s trepidation and told her, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Just tell them to leave; heck, _I’ll_ tell them to leave if you want. Or we can just go somewhere else.”

“Uh…” Akimoto looked up at Yuki who also looked a bit nervous, but he wore a supportive smile. Tohru, whose hand was still out, now looked at Akimoto with worry.

“Oh…” Tohru said, now beginning to retract her hand. “I’m sorry…” She looked a bit sad. “We did kind of barge in unannounced. That was rude. We must have made you really uncomfortable. That wasn’t fair of us to do. We’ll leave.” She prepared to stand up.

“Wait!” Akimoto spoke up. Tohru looked at her. _These are Yuki’s friends. If I reject them, then he might feel bad. I don’t want him to feel bad, not after he’s accepted me and been so nice to me. Besides._ She remembers what Taiitsukun said recently. _I need to see if I can control my curse better around others. I can’t just hide away whenever I’m feeling uncomfortable. Every inch of my body is telling me to just let these girls go, but…_ While looking away, Akimoto shakily extended her hand out to Tohru. “I’m…Akimoto Tsubaki…you can stay.”

Kyo watched in surprise and stayed wary of the new girls. Tohru smiled and happily shook Akimoto’s hand. Arisa smiled on and Saki continued to inspect Akimoto. Yuki breathed a sigh of relief. The six of them sat and ate lunch together. 

===========================================

After school and at Shigure’s house, Akimoto continued her training with Kyo. He once again reduced the amount of water and earth that Akimoto came into physical contact with and she concentrated to keep their elements intact.

During a break, Akimoto tell him, “I didn’t tell those girls about my powers.”

Without looking at her, he says, “I know.”  
  
“How?”

He shrugged. “Your reaction to the things they said seemed too genuine for you to be faking it. Besides, I heard that something was up with that girl with the black hair. She has some kind of abilities, so for all I know, she read your mind or something.”

Akimoto shook her head. “It was something else. I saw some kind of green energy in her eyes. I’ve never seen that with anyone else before. But it felt familiar…”

“Green energy?” Kyo asked. “Is that bad?”

“I don’t know—I don’t think so? It’s just…she said that I was just like her. And in the last world I was in, there was a lady in the past who could glow like I could, but she had blue patterns and not silver. I’m starting to think that whatever I am exists in more than one world. Maybe we’re all over the universe. I wonder if I’ll ever get some answers…” She looks up at the sky and spots the first star. She stares at it.

Kyo watches her in silence, just staring at her face. Akimoto notices and her face turns red. With her heart rate increasing, she looks away. “W-What’s wrong? Is something on my face?”

With a slight blush, he looks forward and nonchalantly says, “No.”

They sit in silence.

Kyo then says, “Ya know, if you really wanted some answers, you should just go to your fairy godmother and demand them. If she refuses to talk, just keep annoying her until she gives in. Heck, you could probably challenge her with the powers you have.”

Akimoto sighs. “She’s apparently the same thing as I am and has powers of her own. Besides, she’s been around a lot longer and would probably win. I don’t see her needing to use a bucket to get her powers to work.” She holds up her wand and uses her wind powers to knock the bucket of water over.

Kyo looks at her. “Hey, you’re getting there. Just wait; you’ll be using your powers without any kind of handicap in no time. You’ll be a force to be reckoned with!” He gives her a coy look. “As if you weren’t already.”

Her blush returns. Continuing to look away, she says, “Thanks for all your help, Kyo.”

“Don’t mention it.”

They both sit in silence once more. Akimoto thinks back about something as she watches the forest. That environment reminded her of a situation she was involved in. She looks into the bushes and imagines those shadow creatures with the golden eyes spying on her as they often did.

“Kyo?”

“Hmm?”

“I need to tell you something. Something I should have mentioned before, but it wasn’t the best time to do so…”  
  
He looks at her with concern. “What is it?”

“Back in the Feudal Era, there were these shadow creatures that stalked me. They didn’t do anything to me, but whenever they were around, I’d instantly feel creeped out, even before I consciously knew they were there. And…I think they followed me into…this world…”

“What?! Are you sure?” Kyo asked in alarm.

“I haven’t actually seen them yet, but I’ve sensed them twice. I know two times doesn’t exactly constitute a pattern, but I am concerned…”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”  
  
“The first time I sensed them, it was when Akito confronted us, so I couldn’t fully focus on them. The second time was when Yuki joined us on the roof the first time. You two were in the middle of an argument and I didn’t want to add even more feelings of negativity in with my suspicions.” She frowned guiltily. “I promise to tell Yuki and Shigure later on. I know you said no more secrets, but I wanted to wait until the right time to tell you. I’m sorry…” She avoided his gaze.

After working through a couple seconds of frustration, Kyo sighed and patted Akimoto’s head. “At least you told me. Thanks.” She blushed with the physical contact. He then flicked the side of her head to which she rubbed the spot he targeted as she looked over at him with slight annoyance. “That’s for keeping the information to yourself for so long.” He grinned at her for a few moments before looking serious again. “So, what do we need to do about these things?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure. Like I said, they never did anything to me or to anyone I was around, so I don’t know what they’re capable of or if they’re dangerous. Something about them just _feels_ wrong. I also don’t know how they got here in the first place. Either Taiitsukun let them in on purpose, or…there is more than one way to cross into different worlds.” She sighed. Then, with an expression of determination, said, “In any case, I promise to protect you.”

Her saying that made Kyo blush in surprise.

Seeing his expression and realizing what she said, Akimoto blushed as well. “I-I mean…I’ll protect you and Yuki and Shigure…and everyone! That’s what I use my powers for…protecting people…” she said as her voice trailed off. She bent over and covered her head with her arm as she looked away. 

Kyo sat and thought about this whole revelation. Up until recently, he thought that him and his family were the only ones in the world who could be categorized under the supernatural. Then this non-human girl from another world who possesses magical powers comes along, and now there are these mysterious dark entities slithering around. Knowing that there were things lurking in the shadows that he couldn’t see disturbed him to some degree. Although, unbeknownst to Akimoto, he’d experienced some pretty messed up stuff during his time, so he wasn’t too fazed by the current situation. Nevertheless, having Akimoto around did give him a sense of ease. He felt…safe with her, in a sense. However, he didn’t want her carrying the burden alone.

“Same here,” Kyo told her. She blinked in surprise, but didn’t look at him. “Whatever comes, I’ve got your back, Aki.”

That made Akimoto smile, but she didn’t show him. “It could be really dangerous.”

“Doesn’t scare me.”

“They aren’t human.”  
  
“Neither are you.”

“They might be worse than demons for all I know.”

“Bring it on!” Kyo jumped up from his spot and looked down at Akimoto with clenched fists in a fighting position. Akimoto gave a small, almost inaudible chuckle. “If we’re dealing with these things eventually, then you really need to get a move on with your training.” He extended his hand down to her. “Ready to keep going at it?”

She looked at his hand, her face still warm. Slowly, but surely, she took his hand and he helped her onto her feet.

“Let’s do it.”


	12. Heartbeat Song

Before dinner one night, Kagura called Akimoto on the phone.

"Hi Aki!"

  
"Hi Kagura. How are you?"

Kagura gasped. "You asked me first! Sweet! That makes me happy. I'm doing okay. How about you?"

"I..." Akimoto thinks about recent events. "I'm actually doing pretty well. I think I actually made some friends."

"'Actually?' What do you mean by that? I thought you said you made some friends before."

"Well...I technically said that I was well known...and even then, I wasn't sure before, but I'm a little more positive now."

"That's good. But if you were having some problems before, you could have always come to me for some advice or...to just be a friend if you needed it." Her voice sounded a bit sad. Then she said in a lowered aggressive tone, "Am I not good enough to be your friend?"

Akimoto frowned. "N-no. It's not that. It's just...you weren't really here or available so..."

"Oh, I see!" Kagura said, perking up. "Yeah, I guess some people have a harder time with long-distance relationships of any kind, huh? You're more of an in-person kind of girl. I suppose I am too." She thought for a moment. "How about we hang out this weekend? I finally found some free time!"

"Uh..." _My curse hasn't activated in a while, but I have to consider the possibilities with her. There's a 50/50 chance that my curse will either make her depressed or enraged. If she's willing to pin someone up onto a tree with knives without my darkness influencing her, who knows what she'll do if she's hit by it? Besides..._ Akimoto thinks about Kyo. _If Kagura ever finds out that I've been spending so much time with Kyo, she might get angry. And if she gets angry, then that might make me upset. And if I'm upset...then..._ "That sounds nice, but I have a lot of studying I need to do," she lied. "There's a big exam coming up soon so..."

"An exam, huh," Kagura sounded disappointed. Then she perked up. "In that case, I can come over and help you study! After all, I have completed that curriculum already—"

"It's a group study session," Akimoto told her. _If I could tell her about my powers, then I'd be able to explain so much to you and maybe even prevent you from getting hurt. But for now..._

"Ah...well, then I guess it would be awkward for some random stranger to show up in front of your classmates, huh?" Kagura tried to sound peppy, but her disappointment could still be heard.

"I'm sorry..."

Kagura chuckled uneasily. "It can't be helped. School is important! We'll catch up another time. So, don't sweat it, okay?"

Akimoto's gut wrenched from guilt. "Mm-hm, yeah."  
  
"Oh! And please say hi to Kyo for me! I want my darling to always know that I love him!"

"Yeah...will do," Akimoto said behind lightly clenched teeth. Hearing Kagura say that made Akimoto feel funny. Was that...anger? Why would that make her angry?

"Bye-bye, Aki!  
  
"Bye." Akimoto clicked off.

============================================

Later that evening, Akimoto was making dinner for the boys. This time, Yuki was helping her cook while Kyo and Shigure hung out at the table.

"Miss, Tsubaki, how about we add leaks into all the dishes tonight?" Yuki asked, cheerfully and loud enough for everyone to hear. "I think it would enhance their flavor tremendously!"

"You sneaky little rat!" Kyo yelled out. "If I see even a speck of that in my bowl, I'm comin' after you!"

Yuki sighed. "That was a test to see if your palette had matured to that of an adult. I guess you're still a kitten after all." He shook his head.

Kyo stood up abruptly. "What was that?!"

"Hey, Kyo?" Akimoto interrupted their squabble.

Kyo immediately calmed down. "What is it?"

"Kagura...says hi. And that she...loves you..." _Why is it so hard to say that?_

"Tch. Whatever." He sat back down, putting his wrist on the table and resting his chin on his palm.

Shigure had on an amused grin. "Now Kyo, it's not polite to dismiss your fiancée like that."  
  
Kyo growled, his voice seeping with venom. _"Don't even joke about that."_

Shigure chuckled nervously. "Oh my..." He then turned to Akimoto. "Hey Akimoto? Kyo seems a bit tense. How about singing a song for him with your lovely voice to help him calm down?"

Akimoto blushed.

Yuki chastised him. "Don't make such an unfair request of her! She's not your personal jukebox, Shigure."

Kyo prepared to join in. "Yeah! And—"

"It's okay," Akimoto said, shyly, not facing any of them. They all looked at her. She thought to herself for a few moments. Then she took a deep breath and tried to exhale the nerves.

She sang the song that was nearest and dearest to her heart.When she finished singing, she took a huge sigh of relief, still avoiding everyone's gaze as her face was very red.

Yuki and Kyo smiled at her. And just when Yuki was about to say something, Shigure interrupts with, "Is it just me, or does that song sound incomplete?" Akimoto looked over at Shigure in surprise.

This statement ticked off both Yuki and Kyo who both loomed over Shigure with glares and cracking their clenched fists.   
  
"You asked her to sing, and then you criticized her?"  
  
"Sounds like a death wish to me."

"No, wait, he's right!" Akimoto told them. They all looked at her. "The song is incomplete. Sorry. I'm just...really attached to that song, even though it sounds unfinished."

"Thought so," Shigure nodded confidently "Takes a keen writer's eye to notice such things."

Kyo glared at him. "You're not allowed to speak."

"Is it a song from your world?" Yuki asked her.

Akimoto thought about it. "I think so. I've known it since forever, but I've never heard anyone else sing it. So, I'm not quite sure where it originated. But for some reason, it means a lot to me."

"That's alright," Yuki smiled to her. "It's still a beautiful song, even if it's a bit short—"

"Nonsense!" Shigure exclaimed as he stood up. "As a writer, I cannot let this injustice stand!"

Yuki tossed him a skeptical look. "You're a novelist. Get over yourself."

Shigure ignored him. "I'll be right back!" And he exited the room.

"Sorry about him being so rude," Yuki told Akimoto.

"Yeah, just ignore him," Kyo said.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine."

After a few moments, Shigure returned. "Akimoto, I have a gift for you!" He took Akimoto's hand and held it up so that he could drop an item into it. It was a hand-sized book.

"A...book?" She asked, confused.

"Yes! It's important for professional writers like me to keep books and notepads around for logging ideas and any inspiration that might hit us. This is a spare book that I had lying around."

"Wait, if it's yours, I can't accept it. You bought it for yourself!" She said. "Wouldn't that be a waste of money?"

He grinned. "Not at all! In fact, I'd say I'm investing in your future."

"Investing in...my future?"  
  
He nodded. "You've been exposed to a song of unknown origin—it's lyrics incomplete and its status, stuck in limbo. You've been given the opportunity to be the one to finish it and make it whole!"

"Me?!" Akimoto said in surprise. "Why me? And what if this song does have complete lyrics and I just don't know about them?"

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Because I know a writer when I see one. And I know you're capable of being creative music-wise. After all, you made up that cute little song from before, didn't you? That one you sang as a child with your guitar?"

Akimoto blushed. "Y-Yeah...But that was so long ago. I don't know if I can do that again. Besides, it feels kind of wrong to mess with someone else's creation."

"You aren't 'messing' with it, you're enhancing it! Even if the song does already belong to someone else and is complete in some manner, you have the chance to make it into something of your own. I'd think it takes a certain finesse to take bits and pieces from a different project and turn it into something unique. You single-handedly created a full-functioning song with instrumental accompaniment as a child. Imagine your capability now! I think there's more to you than just fancy magical powers. You, Akimoto Tsubaki, are a musician!"

Akimoto's eyes lit up. _Me? A musician?_ It had been so long—years—since someone had praised her musical talent so highly before. She mostly kept her composure but wanted to smile so badly. Music was her passion, and someone had faith in that!

"How...do I find the write words? I don't want to mess up the song."

"You won't. Just...don't force it. Let the lyrics come when inspiration strikes. Take it from me," he gives her a thumbs up and a toothy grin that sparkles. "I'm a published novelist."  
  
Yuki gave him a look. "You were doing so well until you made it about you." He sighed and then turned to Akimoto. "He's right, though. You do have talent and I'd love to see something come of it, that is, if you really love music that much."

"Hold on..." Kyo lightly dropped his fist into his other hand as he had an epiphany. "Isn't your wand a microphone? I always thought that was kind of strange... It's not exactly the kind of thing I'd imagine when thinking about magic."

"Taiitsukun said our wands take the form of something that represents what we think is the most magical."

"Then that settles it! You're a musician for sure," Kyo told her. "If even your magic says it, then it must be true. Own it!" His encouragement made her stomach do flips again.

Akimoto looks down at the book. She opens it. Empty pages. A world of possibilities. She closes it and then looks up at Shigure and gives him a slight bow.

"Thank you, Shigure. I'll do my best."

He smiles at her. "That's all I ask."

====================================

The four of them then proceed to eat dinner together. For a while, there is just idle chat with the occasional spat between Yuki and Kyo.

Eventually, Yuki turns to Akimoto. "By the way, Miss Tsubaki, I've been doing a little bit of research in my own time to try and find what creature you could be, as well as the identity of those potentially malevolent shadow creatures. Starting with the later, they may be Shadow People, also known as Shadow Figures, or Black Masses. From what I can recall, these can either be spirits or other extra-dimensional creatures projecting into our reality as masses of shadowy substance."

"So...ghosts?" Akimoto asked.

"Maybe...or something else? I've read that they could either be malicious like poltergeists or just silent observers. They also tend to bring about feelings of misery or unease."  
  
"That sounds pretty accurate..." Akimoto said. "Were glowing yellow eyes anywhere in those descriptions?"

"I didn't see anything about glowing eyes in my research...sorry."

She shook her head. "That's okay. Your findings seem pretty convincing. Any knowledge is good knowledge at this point."

"But regarding your own species, my findings were less conclusive. Someone who glows, can control the wind and other elements, and whose skin cracks like porcelain when using too much energy. Separately, those characteristics had results, but all together? Your existence is a bit too specific, I'm afraid."

 _That figures._ "Don't worry about it, Yuki. I appreciate your efforts. I mean, I should be the one doing the research, not you."

"You're from a completely different dimension," he said. "There's a chance that what you are just hasn't been documented in any trace of our reality."

"I don't know, maybe she's an angel?" Kyo said nonchalantly as he took a bite of his food.

Everyone stared at him in silence with blank faces. Once what he said had full processed, Akimoto's face began to heat up. _Me? An...angel?_

Shigure snickered and gave Kyo a knowing look. "That's adorable."

As the implication finally settled on Kyo, he became riled up as his face reddened as well. "Don't take that the wrong way, you idiots! Just think about it! She pretty much fell from the sky into our dining room from another dimension. Maybe that dimension was heaven and the fall wiped away some of her memories or something? Plus she has this heavenly silver-ish glow and I feel like angels should be able to control the elements. Her glowing is so special that it completely neutralizes our curse—like it was holy power or something. And of course, her voice is—" He cut himself off as he realized what he was about to say, his face getting even hotter. Shigure snickered even more.

Akimoto was blushing so hard, heart racing facing, and was so embarrassed by the situation, that she stood up and excused herself from the table, quickly running up the stairs to her room. Closing the door behind her, she held her burning cheeks with her hands.

_Why do his words affect me so much?! What is wrong with me? My face flushes when I'm around him or when he does certain things. He makes my heart beat fast and sometimes my stomach just flips for no reason! I. Need. Answers!_

Back at the dinner table, Kyo kicks his chair back as he stands up. He grabs Shigure's collar with both fists and gives him the scariest look. _"You did this on purpose, dog!"_

Shigure holds his hands up in surrender, still smiling. "I didn't do anything! You set yourself up, little cousin."

Yuki simply takes a sip of his tea and refuses to get involved.

======================================

The next day, Akimoto managed to shake off those confusing feelings, managing to put back on her stoic poker face, and Kyo completely avoided talking about what happened the night before at dinner.

The two of them walked to school together.

"Hey Kyo, mind if I asked you something?"

He got nervous. "What?"

"You all told me about how your curse works; how you turn into animals and such. But is there more to it than that?"

He calmed down a bit and was a tad confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, my curse affects other people, filling them with feelings they might not necessarily have been feeling at the time. So, I was wondering if your curse did something similar."  
  
"I don't think so. But what _were_ you thinking?"

"Well..." She felt a bit nervous to ask but did so anyway. "Ever since I met you—since I first saw you, actually—I noticed my face heating up, my heart beating faster, and my stomach churning. I also get a bit happier inexplicably. I had never experienced those symptoms in such a combination or context before and it only happens when I'm with you."  
  
Kyo's eyes widened and he blushed while frowning.

"It's pretty consistent too. Even now," she puts her hand over her chest where her heart is, "my heart is racing. I don't know if this question is just so embarrassing to ask or if it's the usual thing of being around you. It's just...concerning. It doesn't feel normal."

Kyo looked away from her as he recalled what Shigure told him on the day she entered their house. _Does she seriously not know?!_

"Well?" She asked. "Is this from your curse?"

He refused to look at her at this point, but he answered, "No, it's not the curse. That's not what we do."

"Huh," she said with disappointment.

"Why don't you just..." he scratched his cheek sheepishly. "...go see Hatori after school. He's a doctor...he can probably help you..."

She looked on ahead, not catching onto Kyo's embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess I'll do that."

====================================

While everyone was in school, Shigure went to visit Akito to update him about Akimoto.

"So, how are you feeling?" Shigure asked him.

Akito sat baking in an atmosphere of bad vibes in the middle of a dark room. "How do you _think_ I feel?"

Shigure shrugged and smiled. "I'm just being polite."

Akito's words were cold and sharp. "I didn't deserve what she did to me."  
  
"I know."

"She attacked me for no reason!"  
  
"Are you sure it was for _no_ reason?"

Akito narrowed his eyes. "Are you questioning me?"  
  
"Just making sure I get the facts straight."

"Kyo belongs to _me!_ His fate is _mine!_ I can do whatever I want with him—with _all_ of you—and no one, not even some _witch_ , gets to say otherwise."

"Speaking of Kyo," Shigure said, "He thinks that Akimoto is an angel. That's kind of cute, right?"

Akito's eyes widened in disgust. "An...angel? _Her?"_ He clenched his fists so hard that his sharp nails dug into his skin and drew blood. "How dare he see someone _else_ in such a glorified light! _I_ am his _god!"_ He clenches his teeth.

"Might I also mention that Akimoto seems to have feelings for Kyo. It's quite obvious, actually." He thought about something. "I'm not entirely sure she's aware of it, though. The two of them are pretty close, so it's only a matter of time before she figures it out."

"Feelings? For...that monster? That girl is no angel. She is a demon and nothing else! And she is trying to take my cat away from me." He glared at Shigure. "She's even getting to you, isn't she? How else would you allow that witch to stay in your house? Even after what she did to me. Don't you care?"

Shigure had on a hard-to-read smile. "I'm simply being safe. Listen, since Akimoto has such powers that she can use at any time, it wouldn't exactly be wise to be upfront with her and kick her out. She could come back for revenge and hurt all of us. If you want her to leave, you're going to have to be more subtle."

"Subtle, huh?" Akito calmed down a bit and inspected his thoughts. He looked out the window. "So, she has a crush on Kyo. How is Kagura taking the news?"

Shigure thought about it. "Huh. Ya know, I don't think she's been made aware."

"She hasn't?" Akito smiled menacingly. "That poor girl. Shigure, be a dear and summon Kagura to me.

I think she deserves to know the truth."


	13. Crush On You

After getting directions from Yuki, Akimoto goes to Hatori’s clinic after school to ask him what’s wrong with her.

He sees her enter his clinic. “Akimoto Tsubaki. It’s been a while.”  
  


“It has.”

“What brings you here?”

“I’m…not sure. I just know something is wrong with me and I need your help.”

He ends up giving her a standard checkup.

“You seem fine to me,” he says.

“That’s probably because Kyo’s not here,” she replies.

One of his eyebrows pop up in confusion. “What does Kyo have to do with anything?”

She goes on to tell him the involuntary physical reactions that take place when she’s around Kyo.

She places a hand over her chest where her heart is. “Even as I talk about him, I can feel the symptoms coming on.” Looking up at Hatori, she asks, “Is this a part of your curse? Or am I getting sick again?”

Hatori is perfectly aware of what’s happening, and he sighs in annoyance. “You aren’t sick. Well, not in the traditional sense anyway. You’re fine.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think it’s best you figure it out on your own—”

“It sounds like romance to me!” Said an unknown voice.

“Huh?”

In came a beautiful man with long silver hair with pale skin and striking yellow eyes wearing an extravagant robe. He had an air of elegance around him.

Hatori’s annoyance grew. “Ayame, you know better than to barge in when I have a client.”

The man, Ayame, smiled. “If this were one of your typical clients, I would, of course, respect your space. However! I think our little angel here needs a different kind of professional than you for her little predicament!”

“Angel?” Akimoto asked with a blush, remembering what Kyo said the night before. “Wait, who are you anyway?”

He bent down to meet her at eye level. “Oh, come on, don’t I look somewhat familiar to you? Look at my face and tell me it isn’t something you recognize.”

She looked at him. “M…Maybe?”

He chuckled. “No worries, my dear! I won’t leave you in suspense for too long, for I know you have a dilemma on your hands. My name is Ayame Sohma, Yuki’s older brother.”

_What?!_ “Yuki has an older brother?” _I guess they do look kind of similar. The atmosphere is so different between them that I couldn’t tell._

He put his hand on his cheek dramatically. “I’m saddened that my dear baby brother hasn’t mentioned me to his housemate. You’ve been around him so long too. That hurts.”

_So, wait…if he’s a Sohma, then…_ “Do you…can you…?”

He perked up. “Why yes, I can and do offer relationship advice, free of charge to my little brother’s friend!”

“That’s…not…”

“Ah, and yes, I am a cursed member of the family. I know you’re aware of us, so no point in keeping it a secret!”

_There it is._

He then held both of Akimoto’s hands tenderly. “And you are Miss Akimoto Tsubaki. The mysterious girl who appeared out of nowhere and is now staying at Shigure’s. You are quite cute!”  
  
That made Akimoto blush. _Cute? Seriously? My hair is a mess and I have dark circles under my eyes. And I know I look gloomy most of the time._ “That’s not true.”

He wiggled a finger in front of her face. “Ah ah ah! I believe all maidens are a thing of beauty. I truly think Kyo said it best when he called you an angel!”

That statement made Akimoto completely unable to function.

“That doesn’t sound like something Kyo would say at all,” Hatori said with skepticism.

“Oh, yes! I too was skeptical. But Shigure told me he said it loud and clear. He wouldn’t exactly give me any context, though. But I assume that means your feelings for him are being reciprocated!” Ayame told Akimoto.

That snapped her out of it.

“Feelings? What feelings? I don’t have any _feelings_ ,” she told him.

He chuckled knowingly. “Oh, you sweet, innocent little dot. I heard what you told Hatori. Racing heartbeat, face becoming flushed, butterflies in the stomach, and happy feelings? Those are the elements of infatuation, my dear. In other words, you have a crush on our resident cat-boy.”

Akimoto blinked in surprised and disbelief.

Hatori sighed. “You couldn’t just let her be, could you? You sticking your nose into other people’s business isn’t charming in the least.”  
  
“Don’t be mean,” teased Ayame.

“A crush?! I don’t have crushes. I’m not attracted to anyone. Never have been,” she tells him.

“Seriously? You’ve never had a crush before?”

_Why is he the second person to ask me that?_ “No. I haven’t.”

“Until now?”

Her face flushed. “No! I don’t have a crush on Kyo! He’s a friend _at best_.”

“I don’t know why you’re so in denial. It’s perfectly natural for young people around your age to desire a more intimate relationship with someone else.”

“It’s not. Natural. For me,” she said with a tense tone.

He still smiled at her. “You may not want it, and I can understand that as having a crush can sometimes be a wild and unfortunate rollercoaster of emotions, but you’ve got it bad, for sure.”

Akimoto sat and thought about it. She knew what a crush and attraction was. She was aware of romantic couples and the things that they did. She just never thought of herself as being a part of that culture. Not only has no boy every caught her attention, but she had mostly been convinced that romance was completely off of the table as far as her life went. And she was mostly okay with that since it meant she didn’t have to deal with any more drama than she was already prone to.

So, why now?!

From the very moment she first saw Kyo, these new feelings emerged. And only around him. She thought it was stupid of her to believe that it was a curse thing. Otherwise, she’d react that way to every male cursed Sohma.

But it was always…only…Kyo. Him smiling back at her entered her mind.

She clenched her teeth as she looked down at her hands. Her face was completely flushed as she was filled to the brim with frustration. _I…_ like _…Kyo! I…_

There was a gleam in Ayame’s eyes. “Ah, yes.

I think you’re realizing it now.”

Akimoto stood up abruptly and silently walked over to the exit, continuing to keep her head low.

“Miss Akimoto!” Ayame approached her from behind. “I wish you luck on your romantic endeavors. Be confident! Oh, and please don’t tell Yuki that we spoke. I want to surprise him. Thanks!”

She walked out of the door without saying anything.

Ayame and Hatori remained in the room, watching the door where she left.

“You’re a tactless idiot,” Hatori said, flatly.

“That stings, Hatori. But it had to be done, and you know it,” Ayame winked at him.

Hatori sighed and resumed his doctoral duties.

=================================================

“Kagura, yes, come in.”

A timid Kagura stepped into Akito’s room, avoiding eye contact. “You called for me Akito?”

“Yes…” He paused for a moment. “I was considering your request of marrying Kyo once he graduates from high school.”

She perked up and finally looked at Akito. “R-Really?”

Akito nodded. “I think it might help take his mind off of…his inevitable future…”

Kagura’s energy level lowered as she frowned sadly.

“Nevertheless, I think you two would make a lovely couple, don’t you think? You’ve loved Kyo longer than anyone, so surely you deserve to have him as your partner.”

“Yes…it’s what I want the most.” She bowed to him. “Thank you Aki—”

“Are you aware of a girl named Akimoto Tsubaki?”

Kagura blinked in surprise. “Aki? Yeah, I know her. We’re friends. Do you…mind?”

“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t care who you befriended as long as they knew their place and you know yours. But ultimately, no, I don’t mind. Unless…”

“Unless…what?”

“Unless they blatantly betray you, that is. A betrayal against you is a betrayal on our family. And Miss Akimoto Tsubaki…well, did exactly that.”

“Aki betrayed me? How? She’s never mean and takes the time out to talk to me.”

“Does she talk to you? Or do you talk to her? Who usually seeks whom?”

Kagura thought about it. She was usually the one to call Akimoto. Akimoto never took the initiative in their friendship.

“She’s a little shy. I don’t really expect her to be completely comfortable with me yet,” Kagura said.

“Shy, huh? Well, would a shy person keep secrets with everyone except you?” He raised his voice. “Would a shy person attack me?!”

“Attack you? Aki attacked you? Are you sure?”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Akito narrowed his eyes.

A chill coursed throughout Kagura’s body. “N-No! Of course not. It’s just…she doesn’t seem like the type.”

“For someone who is her friend, you sure don’t know much about her.” He narrowed his eyes. “Like how she has secret feelings for your beloved Kyo.”

That information seemed to weigh down on Kagura as if a ton of bricks had been forcibly dropped on top of her. “What? No…she doesn’t? She told me that she doesn’t feel attracted to anyone. Besides, she knows that Kyo and I belong together.”

“I guarantee you that she does. Not only that, but Shigure told me that the two of them spend a lot of time together…alone.”

It felt like even more weight was being thrown onto her.

Kagura’s lips trembled. “There’s…no way…I trust Aki.”  
  
“How could you possibly trust her? You haven’t known her long enough to build such trust. Of course, she avoids you so that she could keep Kyo all to herself. Has anything she said recently sounded like an excuse?”

Kagura thought for a moment. Akimoto saying that she had to study for school did sound kind of suspicious…

“Her secrets don’t end there. Watch this.” Akito took a phone out of his pocket and showed the screen to her. A video played that showed Akimoto using her powers against Akito to push him away from Kyo.

“What…what is this?” Kagura said as she stared at the screen in disbelief.

“Miss Akimoto Tsubaki has secret powers. She used them against me to keep me away from Kyo. _To keep him for herself_.”

Kagura took the phone with shaky hands and watched the video replay. “I…I…” _She has…powers?_ She gasped. _When she went shopping! That’s how she distracted the crowd! That’s how she blew the smoke away!_

“Shigure, Yuki, and especially Kyo all know about her and they all seem to have accepted that little _demon_ even though she’s clearly dangerous.”

A mixture of shock and disbelief was shown on Kagura’s face. She continued to watch the video. “This…can’t be true…”

“It’s like they’ve formed a little club. And you know how secrets can bring people together,” Akito said, slyly.

Kagura continued to watch the screen. Akito slipped the phone out of her hands and he dialed a number. Meanwhile, Kagura stood, frozen, trying to sort out her thoughts.

“If that video wasn’t enough to convince you that she’s a lying she-demon, then here,” he offered her the phone, “Talk to Shigure. He won’t tell you about her powers, but he will tell you about Kyo and that girl.”

Kagura took the phone and shakily said, “H-Hello?”

“Kagura! Nice to hear from you! How are you doing?” Shigure asked cheerfully.

“Um…” She tried to calm herself down. “I’m not sure…listen, Shigure, can you be honest with me?”

“Hmm? About what?”

“Aki…she has…secrets, right?”  
  


“Well, of course. We all do.”  
  
“I mean…what you told me before, when you wanted me to meet her for the first time, you told me that there were things I couldn’t ask her about. Is that true?”

“…yes. You still can’t ask her.”

“…Do…do you know her secrets?”

Shigure took a long time to answer. “Yes, I do.”

Kagura clenched her fist. “Does Yuki know her secrets?”

“Yes.”  
  
“Does…Kyo…?”

“…Yes.”

Her fist was shaking. “Thanks for telling me. Also, Kyo and Aki…do they…hang out a lot?”

“Yes!” Shigure said happily. “They’ve grown quite close I’d say. She makes him lunches and they spend time together.”

Kagura punched a hole into the wall next to her as she writhed in anger. “Oh! I see.”

There was some commotion going on from Shigure’s side. “Hey Kagura. Akimoto just came home. Would you like to speak to her?”

“…yes please.”

There was a pause as she could faintly hear Shigure trying to convince Akimoto to come to the phone. She was taking so long to answer. _She doesn’t want to talk to me,_ Kagura thought.

Eventually, Akimoto answered. “Hello…?”

Kagura pretended to perk up. “Aki! How are you? How was your day?!”

Akimoto sounded like she had lower energy than usual. “Uh…it was…fine…”

_Why is she hesitating so much?_ “Awesome! How’s Kyo—the love of my life?”

“Mmm…he’s okay too, I guess…”

_Why isn’t she being more specific?_ “Hey, I know you’ve been making friends lately. Out of curiosity, is Yuki one of your friends now?”

“Yuki? Yeah…I suppose he is.”

“What about Kyo? Is he your friend too? I know he can be tricky to get along with at first.”

There was a long pause. “It’s…uh…hard to tell with him. He’s nice enough to me…he could be…”

_Why was that so hard to answer?_ “I’m glad he’s treating you well! Also, since you’ve been around for a while, have you finally found that certain special guy who suits your fancy?”

Akimoto’s voice became shaky. “N-Not…really…”

Kagura waiting for her to give a longer answer. _That answer is a lot different from her saying she’s never liked anyone._ “Not really, huh? Ooo, sounds like a ‘kind of’ to me! Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Look, Kagura. I appreciate you checking up on me, but I’m not really up for talking today. I must be under the weather or something. Can we talk another time?”

_She’s trying to escape._ “Oh, you’re feeling sick?”

“…yeah…”

_That’s a lie!_ “Okay! Well, I hope you feel better soon! Talk to you later!” Before Akimoto could say goodbye, Kagura ended the call, nearly crushing the phone in the process. With a lowered tone, Kagura tells Akito, who is smiling menacingly, “Sorry about your wall…”

“No apologies necessary. It’s only a wall.” He then pretended to be sympathetic. “I’m sorry about this whole situation. I can’t imagine how you must feel.”

Kagura lowered her head. “May I please go now?”  
  


Akito smirked. “Certainly.”

Kagura left Akito’s room in silence, both of her fists clenched and her muscles tensed.

Akito laughed to himself.

=======================================

Akimoto felt bad about lying to Kagura again. Now she definitely couldn’t be Kagura’s friend. If Kagura ever found out that she had a crush on Kyo, then she might flip and cause some real damage. Akimoto didn’t even _want_ to like Kyo that way. Why is this happening now?!

A few moments later, Kyo approached Akimoto. “Aki, you’re back! Ready to get training?”

She avoided looking at him, walking past him as her heart began to flutter. Her voice was low. “No, not today.”

He was shocked that she didn’t stop to talk to him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She ignored him as she tried to calm her body’s reactions to him.

“Hey!” He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. “What’s up with—” He stopped when he saw her face. She was blushing from ear to ear wearing an uncomfortable expression on her face. She just couldn’t bring herself to look at him. At that point, it clicked with him. He suddenly remembered why she went to see Hatori. He must have told her what’s going on. Kyo took his hand away from Akimoto. He gave her an embarrassed, sympathized look. “Aki—”

“Don’t!” She snapped. She turned her back to him. “I…can’t do this right now. Just…leave me alone…” She left him and walked up to her room.

Kyo just stood there and balled up his fists while clenching his teeth. He kicked his legs at nothing and turned and walked away.

Akimoto went into her room and plopped onto her bead; head buried in the pillow.

_My first crush…is Kyo…_

=================================

A few hours later, Akimoto could hear something tapping at her window. She gets up from the bed and finds Kagura standing outside throwing rocks to get her attention.

_Kagura? What is she doing here?_

Akimoto leaves the house to meet up with her.

“Umm…what are you doing here so late? Is everything okay? Akimoto asks.

Kagura’s head was down. “Tell me the truth, Aki. Do you have a crush on Kyo?”

Akimoto’s heart sunk. “What?”

“You heard me.” She snapped her head up and raised her voice. “Do. You have. A crush. On Kyo?!”

Akimoto’s lips trembled. “I…”

“Don’t lie to me! I can tell when people are lying by looking into their eyes. So, tell me!”

Akimoto backs away from Kagura, avoiding eye contact. “I’m…I’m sorry…”

Kagura’s fist clenched and she narrowed her eyes. “So…it’s true, then.” She continued to shout. “I accepted you as a friend. I was patient with you! But the whole time you were pushing me away all because you wanted to take Kyo from me!”

“Wait, no! That’s not what happened. I really didn’t think—”

“That I would find out? Liars have a way to be revealed, Aki. And you are a _liar.”_

By this point, Yuki and Shigure heard the commotion and came outside to investigate.

“What’s going on out here?” Yuki asked in concern. “Kagura?”  
  
“Stay out of this, Yuki!” Kagura snapped.

Akimoto felt incredibly guilty. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to inconvenience anyone, and she certainly didn’t want to hurt anyone. Kagura may have had her flaws, but she was still pretty nice and considerate. She didn’t deserve the deception. Akimoto would have at least wanted to tell her about her powers, just to help her feel included. Instead, Akimoto only thought of how she could stay in the world longer…to stay with Kyo longer.

_Wait…did I really do everything just so that I could stay with Kyo? Just so that I could be the closest to him?_ Akimoto tried to convince herself before that the only reason she didn’t want to be near Kagura was so that the effects of her (Akimoto’s) curse wouldn’t make Kagura go ballistic. But was that really the case? Akimoto could easily fend off Kagura if she tried to do anything and she could protect others from her too. Sure, Akimoto generally didn’t want anyone to be affected by her curse as its misery incarnate and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but lately, Akimoto has allowed herself to be more exposed to people. Everyone in Shigure’s house and even those three girls at school. Akimoto had begun to open herself up more to people and yet she pushed Kagura away. Why?

To stop her from getting close to Kyo?

Akimoto gasped.

“What are you thinking about, Aki?” Kagura asked with an aggressive tone.

_I’m the worst,_ Akimoto told herself. _I’m…the worst!_

Right on cue, Akimoto’s darkness began to flare up around her. And Kagura was precisely in range for its effects to take hold of her.

At the same time, a chill ran down Akimoto’s spine. A familiar sense. Still wallowing in guilt, she looked around, but couldn’t find it. She finally pinpointed the main area where the feeling was coming from. It settled on a spot next to Kagura’s foot.

There was a large kitchen knife lying on the ground.

_What?_

Kagura followed Akimoto’s gaze. “Where did this come from?” Kagura picked it up.

At the same time, the darkness’ effects were settling in. Kagura grabbed the handle of the knife tight as she looked up at Akimoto with pure rage in her eyes.

Akimoto backed up some more. “Wait…Kagura, you don’t want to do this.”

Kagura took a step towards Akimoto. “If you’re out of the way, then Kyo will have no one else to love but me.”

“Kagura…”

“Kagura!” Yuki called out. He attempted to run towards Akimoto, but Shigure held him back. “What are you doing, Shigure?”

Shigure kept a straight face. “Don’t you realizing what’s happening? Akimoto’s curse has been activated. You and I both know that Kagura, while violent, is too good-natured to actually consider killing anyone. If you and I get closer, we might get sucked up in her curse too. We’ll be useless in trying to help.”

“But Miss Tsubaki—”

“Just watch,” Shigure told him.

Kagura continued to take slow steps towards Akimoto. “I’m doing this FOR THE ONE I LOVE!” She immediately launched herself at Akimoto, knife pointed straight at her.

Akimoto responded by revealing her wand and creating a nearly-transparent silver barrier around herself. Kagura hit the barrier, finding that she was unable to penetrate it on the first stab.

“So…you really are a witch…” Kagura said.

_The way she said that…_ “Were you talking to Akito?”  
  
“I don’t have to tell you anything!” Kagura continued to slash and stab at Akimoto’s barrier, but none of her attacks made a crack in its defenses. Meanwhile, Akimoto, while still focusing on keeping the barrier up, tried to get her darkness to stop, but it wouldn’t listen to her. 

_Okay, think Aki! What can I do about her until the curse stops? I shouldn’t lure her away. She might end up hurting other people or destroying property while in pursuit. Maybe I should just make a really deep hole and put her in it until she calms down. Yeah, that might be the best route…_

Just as Akimoto was about to execute her plan, she once again felt the presence of a shadow figure. This time the creature emerged from the ground directly under Akimoto; within the barrier!

Akimoto yelped in surprise and, in doing so, lost her concentration on the barrier and it faded away. Taking this opportunity, Kagura swiftly leapt towards Akimoto, ready to strike.

“Miss Tsubaki!” Yuki called out.

Akimoto didn’t have any time to react.

At that moment, a figure was seen falling from the sky, landing directly on top of Kagura, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to lose her grip on the knife. It flew it out of her hands.

It was Kyo!

He had jumped out of the window of his second-story room and pinned Kagura to the ground.

“Kagura! Are you out of your mind?!” Kyo yelled at her, he was enraged.

“Kyo! Get off of me!” Kagura struggled to get out of the pin.

“Kyo!” Akimoto was relieved for the save, but then remembered that her curse was still activated. She put some distance between them and used her wind powers to help her jump onto the roof of the house.

With the distance, Kagura immediately started to calm down. She then began to cry; tears rushing down her cheeks. “She had feelings for you the whole time, Kyo! You promised to marry me…me! She can’t have you!”  
  
Kyo continued to hold her down as he spoke to her sternly. “Neither her feelings nor our relationship has anything to do with you Kagura. None of that gives you the right to attack Aki!”

“But…but…” She continued to cry out. “We’re family, Kyo! You’re letting her split us up! It was always supposed to be us!”

Akimoto continued to feel guilty. Even with her trying to see the bright side of things lately, she’s remembering just how much of a burden she has been to this family. She came out of nowhere and disrupted so much. Because of the other situation, Akito’s mad and he used Kagura’s intense feelings to try and take control of the situation. It didn’t take much for Akimoto to figure that part out. And now, because of Akimoto’s involuntary feelings, Kagura’s heart was breaking.

_I never wanted this…_

“Get it through your thick head, Kagura: _I will never love you._ And I’m never going to marry you.”

_No, Kyo…she didn’t attack me on purpose…It’s my fault…_ For some reason, Akimoto couldn’t bring herself to speak up. So much was happening at that moment.

Kyo finally let Kagura go and he stood up, looking down on her with a glare.

She slowly stood up, still crying. She pointed towards Akimoto. “She’s glowing, Kyo! Do you even know what she is? Why are you defending her? Is it because you relate to her? What…she’s a monster and you turn into a—”

At that, Kyo quickly slapped his palm onto her face, covering her mouth. “Don’t you dare say anything else. Leave _. And don’t come back.”_ He shoved her away and then turned his back to her.

She continued to cry and took a step towards him. “Kyo! I didn’t mean it…I…I’m sor—”

“I SAID LEAVE!” He shouted.

And with that, Kagura turned and ran away, crying into the night.

Kyo sighed in frustration. He then looked around for Akimoto.

She was gone.

Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo searched all throughout the house, but they couldn’t find her. Seeing how her drawers were in disarray, looking as if they were ransacked, they could only come to the conclusion that she ran away.

Kyo stared at her room.

“Aki…”

===================================

Far off, in some unknown darkness-filled dimension, two female voices could be heard talking.

The first one spoke in a sleek, American Southern Belle accent. “Ya know, I was thinking that I’d give that Kagura girl a little Shadow Kiss but turns out cousin Akimoto was perfectly able to shoot her own self in the foot. I gotta admit, that’s one doosie of a curse you put on her. All I had to do was plant a knife. After that, I just sat by and watched the fireworks.”

The other woman spoke. “So, you finally saw her, huh?”

“Yup, and I can’t say I’m impressed. Taiitsukun thinks she created some ‘savior,’ but, in reality, screwed herself by putting five Fragments together. An Uber Fragment like that is too unpredictable. Can’t even control earth or water without touchin’ the stuff. What’s worse is that she’s enlisted some _humans_ to help train her. I hope you’re proud.”

“Most of, if not all Fragments need help honing their powers, especially when they grow up in an environment where manipulation of the elements is either uncommon or unheard of. I’m pretty sure I was told that you needed some guidance too when you first started.”

“Tch. I’ll have you know that I caught on fast to the elements. I certainly didn’t handicap myself like she did.”

“You’re also much less special than her. Did you consider that?”

“What was that?!”  
  
“I said, you’re basic,” she said plainly and without hesitation.

The one with the accent growled.

“I’m sorry, do you have something you want to say to me?”

After a few moments of silence, the one with the accent said, “You’re honestly not worth my time.” She thinks about something. “It does ruffle my feathers, though, that I couldn’t cause some chaos of my own. That’ll have to be rectified.”

“I don’t care what you do. Just don’t hurt her. And stick to the plan.”

“Why in the wide, wide universe are we even doing things this way? I’m perfectly capable of turning Fragments into Shadow Maidens. I was doin’ so before you were even born. In fact, you can thank me for most of their numbers.”

“And?”

“ _And_ , I can brake Akimoto’s spirit enough to make her one too! It’s honestly not that hard.”

“Aki is too valuable. You can’t just treat her like every other target.”

“Why not?”

“I created that curse so that she would build a tolerance to unfortunate events. I guarantee that anything you can come up with won’t successfully Turn her.”

“Well why the heck would you do somethin’ like that? All you did was go and make our jobs harder!”

“Even if you did get close, _I know_ that there will be interferences. There’s just too much working against a regular Turning right now. Regardless, imagine how big the catalyst has to be to push Aki over the edge. When _I’m_ done with her, and _when_ she falls, she’ll _stay_ down. _That’s_ why you need to stick to my plan. Understood?”

The one with the accent sighed. “Fine. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t have some fun in the meantime. I’m done observing. Because of my personal project, I’ve been out of the action too long.

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten the chance to play.”


	14. Work This Out

For the next few days, the Sohma’s hadn’t heard from Akimoto. Kyo and Yuki searched the woods around Shigure’s house and checked the nearby town, but weren’t able to find anything. Kyo even insisted on staying up all night to look for her, but Shigure told he and Yuki both that there could be the possibility that Akimoto was taken away from their world. After all, she had warned them before that revealing her powers could result in that consequence. Perhaps this was the time. If that were the case, then looking around for her would be futile.

Yuki was about to believe this, as it sounded logical, but Kyo refused. He said that if Akimoto had left their world that abruptly, then she wouldn’t have taken the time to take a bunch of clothes with her. She’s out there somewhere. He blames Kagura for making such a scene that it scared Akimoto away. She probably made Akimoto feel like she was a burden and so she had to leave them.

Yuki tries to tell Kyo, “I understand that you’re feeling some really strong emotions right now, but don’t let that stop you from thinking straight. Kagura was influenced by Miss Tsubaki’s curse. You’ve known Kagura for years. Do you really think she would sincerely threaten someone’s life?”

Kyo thinks about how Kagura threatened him with a knife when they were children as she coerced him into agreeing to marry her. He glares at Yuki. “Yes.”

“Kagura really has matured a lot since your younger days, Kyo. She’s capable of a lot, but she’s developed at least some bit of self-control. She may lose her temper, but she’s always been well-intentioned. You know that,” Shigure said.

“Tch.” Kyo turns away from them. “Even if Kagura didn’t want to actually kill Aki, her feelings were genuine. They don’t just come from nowhere. You both know how much guilt Aki already has to deal with, so just knowing what Kagura thinks of her would be enough to make her to not want to stay.” He understood where Akimoto was coming from. Like him, she really didn’t have anywhere to run to. Trying to run away was futile, but he didn’t act like he didn’t understand the urge to do so. So, she was likely running aimlessly; lost an unsure what to do; unsure where to go.

Kyo wanted to go out, find her, and bring her home.

So, he would continue to look and even skipped school to do so. Yuki tried to cover for him and Akimoto by telling their teachers that they both caught the same sickness.

Kyo would arrive back at Shigure’s house late at night. Yuki would scold Kyo for being reckless and making him lie for him. Kyo would tell him to shut up and would drag himself to bed.

This went on for a few days.

=======================================

Akito calls both Shigure and Kagura to his chambers at the main house.

Shigure tells Akito that Akimoto has been missing for a while and hasn’t been in contact with any of them.

Akito smiles victoriously, “Finally, the evil is gone and our family is at peace.” He turns to Kagura. “Well done, my dear. I don’t know the exact method in which you did away with her, but nevertheless, I keep my word. You have my blessing to marry Kyo.”

Kagura has a sickly expression on her face. She forces a weak smile. “Thank you…Akito.” She was then excused and walked away from his chambers.

Shigure soon followed and caught up with her.

“How is Kyo doing?” She asked in a monotone.

“He’s been looking for Akimoto.”

“…oh…”

They walk together for a few moments in silence.

Shigure then tells her, “You know, Kyo really identifies with Akimoto. You can understand how he’s always been feared and detested due to his true form. He’s always had the awareness of how different he was, even amongst a cursed family.”

Kagura only looks on, sadly. 

“What you didn’t know was that Akimoto is cursed too.”

Kagura blinked in surprise. “Wha-? How?”

“The specifics are fuzzy, but lets just say that her curse has caused her to be outcast from her society too. She understands his pain and his guilt even though she has no idea what he’s been through. I can imagine that Kyo found comfort and kinship in her.”

Kagura gasped and covered her mouth as she began to cry. “Kyo hates me. He actually…hates me. How could I say that I love him when I’ve hurt him _again_? You don’t hurt the people you love!”

He gave her a reassuring smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sometimes love is irrational and can make us do foolish things. We all give in to our personal darkness from time to time. Just don’t stay there and let it consume you. Move forward and run towards the light.” He patted her head and ruffled her hair a bit before walking on past her. He waved at her as he went on ahead. “Ignore what Kyo said. You are welcome to my home at any time.”

She just stood in the middle of the hallway, continuing to cry.

=======================================

One rainy evening, the three guys stayed cooped up in the house. Kyo was exhausted by this point and didn’t want to search in the rain. He knew his vision would be impaired and the potential for danger was higher. He wouldn’t have been able to find Akimoto if something stupid happened to him.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Shigure stood up to answer it.

It was Akimoto.

She stood in the doorway, drenched from the rain, with a determined look on her face.

Shigure was surprised. “Akimoto! You’re here!”

Yuki and Kyo heard this and rushed to the door.

“Miss Tsubaki, you’re alright!”

Kyo was feeling a lot of things at this moment and didn’t know what to say.

“You left without a trace, I sort of suspected that you left our world already,” Shigure said. He shrugged and chuckled. “I guess Kyo was right.”

Akimoto took a deep breath and then exhaled. “I refuse to let Akito win.”  
  
Shigure blinked in confused. “What?”

“I’ve been doing some thinking these past few days. Akito made it quite clear that he didn’t approve of me on the day we met. I know that he tipped off Kagura about what’s been going on with me. She wasn’t surprised in the least about my powers, and she called me a witch…just like _he_ did. Akito kept referring to Kyo as his possession and felt threatened when I came into the picture. So, he went and involved Kagura; purposefully putting her in harms way as some scheme to get rid of me. I don’t know if his intention was to have her kill me or if he wanted her to guilt me away, but I know this was all _him_.” Akimoto looked at the ground guiltily. “I know it was my fault for keeping my powers and feelings a secret, so Kagura had every right to be upset. And I know that my curse affected her.” Akimoto looked back up at them with conviction in her eyes. “But I will not stand for someone like Akito to use other people as puppets for his pleasure. I don’t care what he does to me. I wouldn’t care if he sent assassins after me or if he tried to run me over with a truck. That’s par for the course for since my curse attracts negative attention. But…what he’s doing to you guys, I will _not_ tolerate. If he wants me gone so badly, he can come over here and kick me out himself. Or rather,” she glared, “ _he can try.” Me living with Shigure and these guys seems to really bug Akito. I guess I need to stay here as long as I can, then._

Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure all stared at her in silence, trying to process everything.

Shigure was the first to break the silence with a slight chuckle. “You really thought this through, huh?”

“I have.” More silence. “May I…come back in?”

“Of course!” Shigure motions for her to walk past him.

Akimoto steps into the house as Shigure closes the door behind her.

Kyo finally gathers up the strength to talk to her. He steps forward and begins to speak. “I’m—”

She avoids eye contact with him and completely walks past him, not giving him the chance to say anything to her. She retires to her room. Kyo felt this like a cold gust of wind smacking him in his face. He’s left dumbfounded.

Over the next couple of days, Kyo does his best to try and confront Akimoto, including waking up early to see if she’s cooking lunch or waiting on the roof of the school to see if she’ll show up, but in both cases, she never did. She’d also leave for school earlier than everyone and would stay late at the school just so that she could be alone. Kyo was visibly distraught.

During these days, she would spend lunchtime in her homeroom, much to her classmate’s concern and confusion. They’d whisper around her, wondering why she was there and if she would do anything to them. She would ignore them and stare out the window.

Kyo would also be quieter than usual around his classmates. Arisa would try to tease him, but he wouldn’t pay her any attention. If she pressed too hard, he would snap at her and storm out of the room. Arisa, Tohru, and Saki could all tell that something was up with him. Yuki didn’t know if it was okay to fill them in on what was going on—without revealing too much.

One day, during lunch, Akimoto was once again staring out the window in homeroom. Suddenly, there was a visitor to her classroom.

“Um…sorry, but is Akimoto Tsubaki here?” The sweet voice said.

Akimoto’s classmates whispered amongst themselves. “A first year? What’s she doing here?”

“And what does she want with Tsubaki?”

“Do you think she’s one of her victims?”

“If she were, why would she be here?”

“So weird…”

They pointed over to Akimoto.

Akimoto, in response, looked over at her guest with surprise.

It was Tohru.

Akimoto met with Tohru in the hallway outside of her classroom.

“You’re looking well, Tsubaki!” Tohru said cheerfully. “Are you feeling better?”

“Feeling…better?”

“Yeah! Yuki told us that you and Kyo caught the same sickness, which was why you both were out for a few days.”

Akimoto thought for a few moments. “Oh…yeah. I’m feeling much better, thanks.”

“That’s great!” Tohru’s smile then turned a bit sad. “Is…everything okay between you and Kyo?”

Akimoto blinked in surprise as her face started to heat up. She looked away with a guilty conscience. “It’s…um…I…don’t really want to—”

“It’s just that…” Tohru cut her off. “…At first, I thought he was just getting over his sickness, but…it seemed to be something more than that. I don’t know him all that well, but he looked…so very lonely and sad.”

Akimoto continued to look away.

“And you two aren’t eating together anymore. And, Tsubaki?”

Akimoto met her eyes again.

“Just now, you looked really sad too.”

Akimoto’s lips trembled as her eyes narrowed. “It’s complicated, Tohru…”

“But! Does it have to be?” Tohru asked with increased vigor. “If you want to be with someone, shouldn’t you just be with them? I mean…you never know what’s going to happen to either of you at any time, so shouldn’t you…” Tohru’s words trailed off as she began staring into space, as if she were remembering something. She began to tear up.

Not understanding why Tohru started crying, Akimoto lifted her hand up as if motioning to put said hand on Tohru’s shoulder but didn’t completely follow through with it. “Hey, are you okay—"

“Shouldn’t you cherish these moments together?” Tohru cried, using the back of her hands to wipe tears away. “Not everyone gets another chance…”

“Tohru…” Akimoto frowned. Did she make the girl cry? Why was what was going on between her and Kyo affecting her so much? Furthermore, her words… It’s not like Akimoto didn’t want to be with Kyo. Clearly, having a crush on someone meant that she wanted to be with him, but things were just so…messed up.

But to want to cherish what she has… Taiitsukun could literally come in at any moment and take Akimoto away. Is this the note that she wanted to leave on?

Akimoto watched Tohru cry. _What has…she been through?_ She wondered to herself.

Tohru wiped away more of her years. “Sorry…I’m sorry, I came to talk to you and then began to cry like a baby. That’s so rude of me.”

Akimoto patted Tohru’s head. “Don’t apologize.” Tohru looked up at Akimoto and Akimoto gave her a small, sincere smile. “You’re a very sweet girl, Tohru. Thank you for caring.” Tohru blushed with the compliment. Akimoto then stopped patting and turned to face her homeroom.

“But…what’re you—”

“Go back and be with your friends, Tohru,” Akimoto said without facing the girl. She then walked back into her homeroom and sat back at her seat.

Tohru, who had more to say, sighed and walked back to her own homeroom.

=======================

Another day passes, and Akimoto still continues to avoid Kyo.

Kagura calls Shigure’s home, hoping to talk to Kyo. Yuki had answered the phone.

“I uh…” She was low in energy. “I know he doesn’t want to speak to me…but I just wanted to tell him I’m sorry and that…I’ll never bother him again…”

“I honestly don’t think he’d come talk to you right now,” Yuki told her, bluntly.

“Oh…yeah…I understand…”

“…”

“Yuki, I…I wanted to apologize to you too.”  
  
“Hmm? Why me?”

“I know that Aki was your friend too, so her leaving the house must have also made you sad. I’m…just so sorry for screwing everything up…” Her voice cracked.

Yuki sighed. “Look…I know you were…influenced a bit, so I don’t think you should beat yourself up so much.”

“Please don’t sugarcoat things for me, Yuki. My actions were horrible. I should be the one exiled, not Aki. I know I always make people uncomfortable with my violent bursts. I just…can’t seem to control my emotions sometimes. Part of me always knew that I’d make a mistake one day I couldn’t fix. And…here it is. If it were something small like a broken door or a hole in the roof, I could fix that. …I can’t fix this.”

Yuki sat in silence for a few moments as he thought about something.

“Yuki? Are you there?”

“Yeah…I’m here. Listen…” He gave it one last thought. “Miss Tsubaki has returned.”

Kagura perked up. “What? When?!”

“A few days ago.”

“Really? That’s great! Kyo must be so happy!” The thought of Kyo being happy with another girl made Kagura still feel slightly angered, but the relief and genuine happiness for him trumped that feeling.

“Actually, the two of them aren’t talking.”

Kagura then had a sickly feeling in her stomach as her energy diminished. “They…aren’t?”

“She’s been avoiding him ever since she came back.”

Kagura clenched her fist. “Why would she do that to him—” She then thought about it. Guilt once again overwhelmed her. “It’s all my fault…The things I said to her…The things I said _about_ her…” She facepalmed.

“…”

“I’ve got to fix this.”

“How are you going to do that? You can’t really make either of them do anything.”

“Hmm…” She tried to think of a plan. “Does Aki still go to your guys’ school?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I have an idea.”

=======================================

The next day, during lunchtime, Akimoto received another visitor. This time, it was Saki who came to give her a note.

“It’s from Yuki,” she said in her usual monotone. “He wanted to tell you something but didn’t want to come up and bother you. So, I volunteered.”

Akimoto took the note. The note said to meet him in the sports equipment shed after school. He had to discuss something regarding her curse and her powers.

_Why does he want to meet there? Why can’t we just do it at home— Oh yeah…_ She remembered how she’s avoiding Kyo. She sighed and then thanked Saki.

After school, Akimoto went to the sports yard and found herself at the equipment shed.

“Yuki?” She called out.

There was no answer.

She frowned and then walked into the shed. It was a spacious shack filled with shelves and boxes of equipment for festivals and physical education. There were two skinny windows near the ceiling, so the shack was covered in mostly shadows.

Just then, Kyo came running in.

“Aki!”

The sudden arrival started her and made her jump. She was suddenly very concerned. “Why—?”

At that moment, the door of the shed slammed closed and a clicking sound was heard.

Kyo turned around and tried to open the door.

“Darn it!” He tried to slam the door down with this shoulder. “We’re locked in!”

Akimoto cared less about the locked door and more about the previous issue. “Why are you here?”

Still trying to open the door, Kyo told her, “That Tohru girl handed me a note, saying that you wanted to meet me here.”

“What? But I never—” Epiphany finally stroke. “This was a set up…” Akimoto said in a hushed tone.

Kyo ceased his efforts for a moment and looked over at Akimoto. He noticed that she was visibly upset from being there. He sighed. “I know that you don’t want to be here with me, so you can always use your powers to get us out.”

She avoided looking at him. “Too many people already know about my powers. If I use them and somebody else sees them, I might be in even bigger trouble with Taiitsukun.” _Not to mention how many of the other students are already wary about me._ She went over to the edge of the shed and turned her back to Kyo. Already, her heart was pounding faster just by being around him.

For a few minutes, Kyo shouted out to see if anyone heard him to let them out. But, after a while, once he realized that no one was coming, he gave up. Minutes went by in silence between them as they waited for someone to finally open the door…or at least until nightfall when Akimoto would be confident enough to use her powers without anyone seeing.

Finally, Kyo broke the silence. “Aki…I—”

“Don’t,” she said firmly.

“But we—”

She raised her voice “I said don’t! We don’t need to talk about anything! Please, let’s just wait quietly.” She had a pleading tone in her voice.

Kyo growled. “You know what? No! I’m not going to let things stand like this. You and I need to talk.”

“No, we don’t.”

“I refuse to believe that you just want things to be this way. You said that you wanted to get back at Akito for what he did. If you keep avoiding me, it’s no better than you just being gone. He still wins!”

Akimoto fell to the floor into a squatting position as she covered her ears and closed her eyes tight. “I know!”

Seeing her like that, Kyo calmed down and looked down and away guiltily.

“I know…” She said quieter before raising her voice again. “I just…I never wanted to feel this way! I’ve never had feelings like this for anyone before and I never would have wanted to if I knew that it would cause so much trouble. These feelings make everyone uncomfortable and people get hurt because of them.” She thinks about Kagura. “I’m such an idiot.” She takes her hands away from her ears.

“No, you’re not—”

“Yes, I am!” Her back is still facing him. “Without even realizing it, I was pushing Kagura away just because I wanted to be with you. I thought I was being considerate as to not affect her with my curse, but apparently, I was just being selfish.” She shakes her head. “I didn’t want to break up your family. _Nothing_ should break up a family.” She thinks about her own broken family and how no one else should have to have such conflict with those closest to them. She sees her parents’ exasperated glares, their neglectful attitudes. Their shouting matches. And how she eventually left them.

Even in this new world, she was still causing familial discord.

Directly outside of the shed, Kagura could be seen leaning against its outer walls as she listened in.

Akimoto covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t ask for these feelings. And if I had the power, I would make them go away.”  
  
Kyo took a step towards her. “Aki—”

“I don’t. Want. An answer,” she said, sternly. She shakes her head. “I’m not expecting anything from you; I don’t need the disappointment.” Her voice begins to crack as tears well up in her eyes. “I just want things back to normal between us. I want to be friends again.”

She suddenly feels a hand on her head. She turns around and sees Kyo smiling down at her. “You know what? You’re right: you are an idiot.”

She gives a confused look.

“We never stopped being friends, so don’t say stupid things.”

Hearing that made her blush. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that this was the first time he’s ever acknowledged their friendship out loud.

He flicks her forehead and then stands up. He scratches his cheek as he looks away sheepishly. “So, uh…when we do get out of here, we head back together, okay?”

She stands up too, still avoiding looking at him, but feeling relieved. “Y-Yeah.” Her stomach was still doing flips, signaling that the feelings were still there. However, she didn’t want or need anything more between them. Friendship was enough for her.

“Right…” He turned towards the door. “Now we just gotta find a way out of here.”

“…Kyo?”

“Hmm?”

“Could you please…talk to Kagura?”  
  
Hearing her name made Kyo’s body tense up. Kagura’s body had a similar reaction as she listened in.

His voice began to rise with anger. “Why the heck would I talk to her? She tried to hurt you!” He balled up his fists. “And she had no right to say those things about you.”

“She’s entitled to her feelings, Kyo. Besides, it’s because of my curse that she went that far. Don’t you remember what happened the night you and I first met? You’re not someone to just attack a random stranger for no reason, but look what it made you do. Can’t you imagine how it could affect her?”

Kyo was silent as he thought about it; still angry.

“My curse strongly amplifies emotions that already existed. So, I’m not going to say that some of what she said or even what she did wasn’t on her mind, but most people have the self-control to hold back their knee-jerk reactions to strong emotional stimuli. I know that Kagura isn’t as great at holding herself back, but I know for absolute certain that she is trying very hard to be better. She didn’t deserve everything that happened to her. She didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of.” Akimoto remembers Kagura cleaning up the knives and her mess from their first meeting and how she’s been checking up on Akimoto frequently. She was the first one in this world to extend a hand of friendship towards Akimoto.

Kyo narrowed his eyes as he looked elsewhere.

“I don’t know her as well as you all do, but to me…

…she was very nice, and I wish…

…we could have been friends.”

When Kagura heard this, her eyes widened as she broke down in tears. She slid to the ground and covered her mouth to muffle her cries.

“So please, forgive her Kyo,” Akimoto pleaded.

Kyo made eye contact with her and saw the seriousness in Akimoto’s eyes.

After a while, he sighed.

“Alright, fine…I guess I’ll…talk to her…”

Akimoto gave him a small smile as she sighed with relief. “Thanks, Kyo.”

“Yeah, yeah…” He turned back to face the door. “I’m tired of being stuck in here. I’m gonna try again to get us out.” He backed up as far as he could away from the door. Then, in one quick motion, ran towards the door at full speed, elbow up and extended towards it.

Just as he was about to make contact with said door, there was a click and the door swung open. Kyo bolted out of the shed and, losing his balance, fell forward and tumbled across the ground.

“For a cat, you’re not very graceful,” a voice said.

Akimoto stepped out into the open and saw that Yuki had opened the door. He was holding a set of keys.

“Yuki!” Akimoto said.

He smiled at her. “I’m sorry about all of this Miss Tsubaki. I hope you’re not mad.”

Kyo rose up in anger. “What’s the big idea you stupid rat?! Locking us in there and then purposefully opening the door when I was running towards it?!”

Yuki addressed him with apathy. “Well, since you were useless in making any progress with Miss Tsubaki, we had to interfere. And as for the door, you’re just unlucky, I suppose.”

“Who’re you calling useless?!”

Akimoto began to blush as she realized something. “Wait, did you hear everything we were talking about?”

Hearing this thought made Kyo blush as well. He clenched onto Yuki’s collar. “You darn rat! You were eavesdropping!”

“I assure you, I didn’t hear anything you said. It was just generally agreed upon to let you both out after a certain amount of time. We weren’t going to leave you in there all night. Unlike you, cat, the rest of us have decency.”

“‘Rest’ of you?” Akimoto asked. Then she thought about it for a second. “Saki and Tohru! Arisa was in on it too, wasn’t she?”

Yuki smiled and put his arms up in defeat. “You’ve caught us red-handed.” He pointed in a different direction and the three girls could be seen poking their heads around the corner of the school building. Once revealed, Arisa and Tohru hid behind the wall. Saki didn’t care and kept watching. “I convinced them to keep their distance just so that they weren’t around for any accidental displays of magic or curses.”

Kyo held on to Yuki’s collar. “That was sneaky, rat.”  
  
“But necessary,” Yuki added. Using a quick maneuver, Yuki swiped Kyo’s hand away from him.

“I didn’t like being tricked, but…I was being dumb, so, I needed to be confronted like that,” Akimoto said. “Thanks…”

Yuki smiled at her. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Miss Tsubaki. Welcome back—for real this time.”

Akimoto gave him a small smile.

“Now, shall we head home?” He asked.

“Sure,” she responded. They both looked at Kyo, who still had a grumpy look on his face.

“Tch. Yeah, whatever. Let’s go. I’m sick of this place.”

The three of them began to walk together.

Kyo addressed Akimoto. “We can start your training back up when we get back!”

Yuki gave him a disapproving look. “Maybe you could ask her instead of telling her.”

“It’s fine, Yuki. And he’s right. I need to get a better hold on my powers, so I’ll appreciate the help as soon as possible,” she told them.

“Well, in that case, I’ll be happy to help,” Yuki said.

They continued to talk as they walked back to Shigure’s house.

Meanwhile, Kagura stood behind the shed, staring up at the sky. She smiled sadly, but sincerely.

_Thank you, Aki. And…I’m sorry to you too._

_One day, let’s do it._

_Let’s be friends._


	15. School's Out

"What do you mean she's returned?!" Akito screamed as he threw a flower vase against the wall, it shattering to pieces on impact. He then glared at Shigure who was just standing watching the scene with a slightly amused smile. Akito's words were sharp. "How. Did. This. Happen?"

Shigure shrugged. "I guess she just decided to not let the drama get to her. It was a good attempt, though."

Akito clenched his fists and grinded his teeth. His whole body shook from anger.

"Oh, and did I mention that she and Kyo are friends again—"

In a swift move, Akito reached over for Shigure's collar and grabbed it with intensity, forcing Shigure's face closer to his. Akito's eyes shot daggers at him. "I've had enough of your not taking this seriously Shigure. You're supposed to be on _my_ side here. If you cared about me at all, you'd work with me to make that witch go away."

Shigure gave an unreadable smile. "What do you mean? I haven't done anything to disrupt your plans and, as you can see, I am always here to support you."

Akito's grip tightened. "You're not! You're on _her_ side. Ever since she came around, you've stopped being kind to me."

"I'm always kind to you," Shigure told him.

"Your kindness is untrustworthy and I don't like that." He loosened his grip and turned away from Shigure. Shigure then frowned disapprovingly as Akito's back was turned. "You, Kyo, Yuki, and every one of you belong to _me_." After a few moments of thinking in silence, he turned back around to face Shigure. He placed a tender hand on the man's cheek. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I know _you_ know your place. It's all that girl's fault. She is a witch who has clearly cast a spell on all of you." He caressed Shigure's cheek. "Don't worry...I will save you. I will figure this out. I am your god, after all." He stepped away and walked over to a window and stared out of it.

"So...do you have an idea of what to do next?" Shigure asked.

"Hmm..." Akito gave a sly smile. "Didn't you tell me at once point that she was being bullied at school?"

=========================

The next morning, Akimoto and Kyo were training Akimoto's powers before it was time to head off to school.

Shigure poked his head out of the door. "Shouldn't you two be getting a move on? Wouldn't want you to be late."

"We won't be late," Kyo told him. He then gave Shigure a confident smile. "Besides, don't wanna rush a momentous occasion, right?"

Shigure blinked in confusion. "What momentous occasion?"

Kyo motioned his head over to Akimoto who was concentrating on keeping a small stream of water up in the air. Kyo explained, "We've finally got her down to only needing a single drop of water on her hand. And I think...that drop has just about evaporated." He then addressed Akimoto. "How's it lookin' Aki?"

With that prompt, Akimoto swirled and manipulated the stream of water all around the area as if it were on its own mini roller coaster. The drop of water had indeed evaporated and no physical contact with the substance could be seen.

"Awesome!" Kyo cheered. "Now do earth!"

Akimoto let the water fall to the ground as she made large cylinders of earth rise up from the ground. Again, no physical contact with earth could be seen in this case either. With one swift motion, she made the cylinders return to the ground as if it had never been manipulated in the first place.

"You did it!" Kyo called out excitedly, punching the air.

Shigure whistled as he was impressed. "Look at you no longer needing to stick your leg in a bucket. If this were a video game, I'd say you leveled up!" He smiled at her.

Akimoto blushed and had a small smile. "It's all thanks to you guys. You made a lot of great points after you found out about my situation. Because of your teachings and all the time you spent on me, I was able to practice even when I was gone for that time and in my room when I came back. Sad or not, me getting full control of my powers was detrimental and could be the difference between life and death. If Inuyasha were here, he'd definitely say 'I told ya so.'" She chuckled. Realizing that they saw and heard her small laugh, she looked away out of embarrassment and tried better to conceal her excitement by making her smile look more neutral. "Anyway, thank you. I'll make sure to thank Yuki when I see him at school later."

Shigure gave her a coy look. "You won't het the chance if you both don't get moving."

Akimoto and Kyo then realized the time and then rushed to gather their belongings and head off to school in a hurry.

Shigure waved at them as they went off. Once they were out of sight, he thought to himself. _I wonder what obstacle you'll face next?_

================================

After going through another normal day of school, Akimoto and Kyo walk past the gates and begin walking home together as they chat.

But before they could get too far, the pair are intercepted by a familiar group of people.

"Stop right there, freak!" The delinquents that used to go after Akimoto blocked their path, each having an intimidating look on their faces. "Bet you forgot about us, didn't you?"

"Yeah, kind of," Akimoto said, bluntly.

"You weren't actually supposed to forget!" Their leader shouted. "You screwed over our girlfriends and now you're gonna pay! And don't go thinking that we were going easy on you. The only reason we stayed away was because our girls kept draggin' us to do things with 'em. But now that they're busy, it's payback time!"

 _Oh great,_ Akimoto thought. _These guys are going to cause a scene._

Kyo positioned himself in front of Akimoto and spoke back to her. "Don't bother with these guys, Aki. Let me handle it." He glared at the thugs. "If you know what's good for ya, you'll back off. Unless you want me to embarrass you again."

"Don't get cocky, punk! You only surprised us last time. Don't go thinking that you actually have a chance against us!"

Kyo cracked his knuckles and smiled menacingly. "Try me."

"Hey, what's going on here?" A voice called out from behind Akimoto and Kyo.

Everyone looked back to see Arisa, Tohru, and Saki standing watching them.

"Are these guys giving you trouble?" Arisa asked, glaring at the bullies.

"I definitely sense negative waves coming from them," Saki added.

"What is this?" The main bully asked. "More first-years? You callin' your baby friends to come help you?" He taunted Kyo. He then turned to the girls. "Run along ladies, nothin' to see here."

"What a cliché thing to say. How boring," Arisa said. She then walked in front of Kyo and Akimoto and stared the bullies down. "I believe my friends and I need to go this way, so if you would just buzz off, we'll be out of your hair."

One of the bullies reached out to Arisa. "Listen sweetheart—"

Before he had a chance to touch her, Arisa grabbed his hand and forcefully flipped him onto his back and slammed him onto the ground.

The other delinquents went into a defensive position and looked angry. "You're gonna pay for that—"

Arisa, now joined by Saki both gave the most intense glares to the bullies. Their gazes were so cold that it sent chills down each of the delinquent's spines. Their glares pierced their very souls.

"I won't hesitate," Arisa said in a murderous tone.

"My powers are a bit rusty, shall I test them on you?" Saki's usual monotone sounded scary.

The bullies all shivered as they looked on in fear. They picked up their fallen comrade and ran off with a dust cloud following close behind them. "This isn't over!" They shouted.

Once they were gone, the negative tension in the air immediately lifted.

"I'm so glad everyone is alright!" Tohru said with a relieved smile.

"We could have handled that, you know," Kyo told them.

"Don't sweat it, Carrot-Top," Arisa told him as she ruffled his hair (to which he growled and glared at her). "We know you're a big tough guy who can take on some losers. We just thought we'd get in on the action, right Hana?"

"We are your angels of retribution and we will smite your oppressors," Saki said, flatly. "But scaring them works too."

"Do those guys usually bother you two?" Tohru asked.

"They used to, but started backing off a while ago," Akimoto told them.

"Those were the bullies you were running away from on that day we first met, weren't they?" Saki asked Akimoto.

Akimoto thought about it for a few moments. "I guess so."

"And you were just letting them harass her?" Arisa accused Kyo.

"Hey! I didn't _let them_ do anything!" Kyo aggressively told her.

"Kyo's actually been really helpful to me. If it weren't for him, I'd probably be a lot worse off," Akimoto said with a slight blush.

Tohru smiled. "Well, I'm glad that Kyo had your back this whole time. It's so nice to have friends willing to be there for you, huh?"

Akimoto nodded.

"You're capable of defending yourself, so why do you need him?" Saki asked her.

Kyo and Akimoto both gave each other uneasy looks. "Uh..."

Tohru clapped her hands once. "I don't think it matters. They're looking out for each other and I think that's amazing. I mean, Uo and Hana are both strong, but you two would defend each other in a heartbeat, right?"

Arisa closed her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, that's true."

"Of course," Saki replied.

After a few more moments of chatting, Arisa looked down the road. She then addressed Akimoto and Kyo. "You two were heading home, right? How about we walk with you and make sure those idiots don't come back?"

"We don't need your help," Kyo told her.

"Don't be shy, Red, we're happy to help!" Arisa told him. "Besides, we're all heading the same general direction, so why not walk together?"

"It'll be fun!" Tohru added.

"That should be fine," Akimoto said.

Kyo growled before begrudgingly consenting.

They all began to walk as a group.

"Ya know, if you two waited for us a few more minutes every day after school, we could always walk home together if you'd like," Arisa offered.

"Don't go thinking that we're gonna make this into a habit," Kyo warned her.

"Oh, stop being so difficult. We know you like us, just admit it," she teased.

Kyo blushed. "I didn't ask for you to be here!"

"Such a tsundere..." Arisa said.

Kyo continued to chew her out. Akimoto and Tohru simply smiled as they watched their friend's petty squabble.

===========================

A little distance away from the school, Akito could be seen keeping watch. He witnessed the exchange between Akimoto, Kyo, and the bullies. After seeing the direction where the bullies ran, he narrowed his eyes and smiled to himself as he began walking in their direction.

=============================

That night, Akimoto was in a really good mood. She plopped down onto her bed and finally opened up the blank book that Shigure gave her. With a pen, she wrote out the lyrics to that incomplete song she sang for them before. Once the known lyrics were recorded, she laid there and thought about what could come next.

Where should she add the extra lines? Should they go at the end of the song? Or after the first verse? What was she even going to write?

She rattled her brain for a few moments.

It was a happy, feel-good song, so the lyrics she added had to be sweet-sounding.

She sang to herself. The song was about somebody, that part was clear.

The song didn't sound romantic, so maybe it was about...friends? Friends lift each other up when others are down. And friends can make all the difference in one's life.

Akimoto thought about Inuyasha and Shippo. They were the first mutual friends she had ever made. They had entered her life and left a permanent mark on her heart.

"Hmm..." Akimoto continued to think. Words began to form in her mind and she wrote those words down in the book.

She then thought about the Sohmas she stayed with as well as Arisa and her friends. Despite some turbulence that showed up from time to time, they were there for her and she deeply appreciated it.

She wrote down even more new lyrics and then sang them out loud to the tune of the first verse.

After singing it out loud, Akimoto blushed and rested the book over her eyes. It sounded sort of cheesy, but she liked it anyway. She then picked the book up and stared at the lyrics she wrote. She frowned.

"Something else is missing...Should I immediately go into this next part? Or should something bridge the gap between them...?"

So, Akimoto workshopped the song. She knew that it wouldn't be completed this one night, but it was still fun to make some progress on it.

==============================

The next day, Akimoto, Yuki, and Kyo went to school as usual. Nothing about the day seemed unordinary.

During one of Akimoto's classes, she sat in her desk listening to the teacher as most of the other students were doing as well.

At some point another staff member of the school came into the classroom and spoke with the teacher.

The teacher addressed the class. "My apologies everyone. I have some urgent business to attend to for several minutes. I trust you all can silently study amongst yourselves until I return." He and the staff member then promptly left the room.

This was certainly weird, but nothing freak out about. Some of the students did as the teacher said and studied on their own while others chatted up their friends beside them. As usual, no one wanted to talk to Akimoto, so she just skimmed through her notes, but her mind was already beginning to wander.

After a few minutes, the door slammed open!

Standing there were the same delinquents from before.

 _What the?_ Akimoto thought to herself. _Why are they here?_

They skimmed the room and glared at Akimoto once they saw her.

Akimoto had on her poker face, but couldn't help but think, _They can't honestly be here in the middle of the day to do this._

The main delinquent's girlfriend stood up and faced him in surprise. "Taro? What are you doing here? Did you sneak out of class?" She then realized something. "Actually, how are all three of you're here? Did you plan this?"

He gave her a sneaky smile. "Don't sweat it, babe. Didn't have to sneak out 'cause our teachers up and left us alone. We strolled right on out of our classrooms and no one stopped us."

_Wait...their teachers left too? What's going on?_

"Okay, I guess, but why are you here? You could get into a lot of trouble if our teacher comes back and sees you here."

Another one of the delinquents spoke. "They won't be comin' back for a while. You can trust us on that."

_That's suspicious. Something's happening._

"What?"

"Kenji, what are you talking about?" Another girl asked.

"Don't worry about it. We've got everything covered. As for why we're here," he pointed at Akimoto. "We're here to fix a pest problem you've been having."

The whole class followed his finger and looked at Akimoto.

 _This was planned. This was CLEARLY planned. But these three wouldn't have the means to make something like this happen. So who....?_ Akimoto thought about it for a few moments. _No...it couldn't. He wouldn't._ Akimoto clenched her fist as she thought about Kagura. _He would._

_Akito._

Akimoto tried her best to keep her facial expression from turning into that of pure anger.

"Hmm? You're here for Tsubaki? Why?"

The bullies looked confused. "Don't you remember? She hurt you all—forced you to the ground and made you cry."

The other students of the class began to murmur about this.

"I kind of forgot about that..."

"Didn't that happen only like...once?"

"Wasn't that just an earthquake? What is he talking about?"

"Taro, you dummy, Tsubaki isn't a pest."

Akimoto snapped out of her anger and looked over at the girl in surprise. This was, in fact, one of the curse who fell victim to her curse, so why would she say something like that?

"But she—"

"That incident happened months ago. If Tsubaki had done any of that, wouldn't she have retaliated against you guys sooner? I mean...she's done literally nothing since then, so I'm pretty sure she didn't do anything wrong."

"What?!" The delinquent yelled out in surprise.

The girl looked around the rest of the class. "Hey everyone, am I crazy or something? Please tell me that what I said makes sense."

The class continued to talk amongst themselves.

"Most of the time I forget that Tsubaki is even there. She's so quiet."

"Doesn't she hang out with a group of first years? Like...one of them even came to visit her a few days ago."

"If the first years like her, then she can't really be dangerous, right?"

The leader delinquent growled and then shouted. "Are you all idiots or something?! Who cares about how quiet she is or if the first years like her or if nothin' bad has happened for a while. It just ain't natural for one room to feel an 'earthquake' and for someone to fall to the ground and cry for no reason. That chick ain't normal! None of that weird stuff happened until she came along, so it was her! And I am not lettin' her get away with hurting my girl!"

"Taro, you're just mad that that orange-haired first year beat you at your own game. Honestly, your fragile ego is so unattractive."

His face went red as he shouted, "It's not about that!" He and his two friends then began making strides towards Akimoto's desk. "You all will see how much better things'll be once she's dealt with."

Much to Akimoto's surprise, some of the students around her stood up and made a protective barrier around her. The bully stopped in his tracks.

"Tsubaki isn't our friend or anything. Heck, we don't even know anything about her."

"But it wouldn't be right if we just let you beat up an innocent girl for no reason."

"Lay off!"

Even the girls who were affected by Akimoto's curse became a part of the protective barrier. All of them were glaring at the bullies.

This was so weird. Akimoto's classmates were actually standing up for her! All she could do was watch in disbelief. How far were they willing to go to protect her? She imagined not very far, but if push came to shove, she'd make sure that no one got hurt. But why would they do that for her? Was it possible that their initial beliefs about her actually fizzled away? How could that happen?

"Stand aside!" The bullies ordered.

No one moved.

"You're all makin' a big mistake!" One of the bullies said.

"We can prove just how dangerous she is. Get her upset enough and she'll use her freaky powers."

 _Yup. That is definitely Akito's influence._ Akimoto narrowed her eyes at no one in particular. Then, she looked up at the crowd and the whole situation unfolding. _How am I supposed to fix this mess? No one is really in the wrong here. If I fight those guys, then that'll only prove them right. If I just let them beat me up, that'll send the wrong message and Kyo will be mad at me._

Just then, Akimoto felt a chill travel down her spine. She recognized that feeling as she sensed something coming from outside. She looked out the window. Something was coming. Something big.

Akimoto was done waiting and done being passive about this.

She stood up and went to the windows.

"Tsubaki?"

"What do you think you're doing?! You better take us seriously!" One of the delinquents called out. Everyone looked over at Akimoto.

Akimoto sighed and then gave everyone a sweet smile. "Thank you for trying to protect me. And I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. The truth is that it was my power that made you all feel so bad back then. I have a curse on me that I can't always control."

Everyone just stared at her.

She continued to talk. "But...I'm pretty certain that this is the last time that you'll have to deal with me. So...let me at least prove to you all that I'm on your side."

"What're you—"

Akimoto took out her wand as the symbols glowed along her skin. Everyone gasped in shock. Akimoto used her power over wind to cut a fine incision in the glass of the window. She cut out a hole big enough for her to fit through and pushed the excess glass out of the way with a puff of wind. She then jumped out of the third story. Some of her classmates shrieked in horror as they all rushed to the window to see what became of her.

Akimoto had used her wind powers to cushion her landing. She was fine.

Without looking back, she slowly walked into the yard towards the source of negative energy. And right on cue, Akimoto saw a hoard of those shadow figures rising from the school grounds like ghosts coming out of graves. Their numbers were well into the hundreds.

Akimoto stood her ground. "I'm ready for you."

At that moment, Akimoto saw something being thrown towards the school building. It was a long metal pole traveling at incredible speeds through the air! It was heading right for one of the classrooms on the second level. Before it made impact, Akimoto conjured up a pillar of earth right in time that shot the large pole straight up into the air.

A bunch of sports equipment came hurling towards the building at similar speeds, all targeting different windows leading to classrooms. Akimoto used a huge wall of wind to not only stop them in their tracks but send them flying back out towards the shadow creatures.

By this point, most of the inhabitants of the classrooms in the building became privy to what was going on. The shadow creatures could be seen surrounding the area like a thick impenetrable mob. Students and teachers went up to the windows trying to see what was happening. Feelings of shock and fear could be seen amongst them. Some of the teachers tried to get their students to calm down and stay in their seats, but the students were too riled up to listen. Other staff members contemplated evacuating, but it was soon found out that the exits to the outside were blocked by those shadow creatures.

The pole that Akimoto launched into the sky finally made its way down to the earth, falling directly on top of some of the creatures. It created a small crater, but the shadows were unaffected as it phased right through them.

Akimoto called out to the creatures. "What are you? What do you want?"

But they did not respond to her. They all just stood there, staring at her with their bright yellow eyes.

Towards the direction of the parking lot, multiple cars were flung into the sky, landing on the roof of the school as well as crashing into nearby trees. Akimoto could hear multiple students screaming.

_They aren't even trying to attack me. They're after the school!_

At this point, some of the shadows in Akimoto's view began to swiftly move towards the building. She tried to swat as many away as she could using her wind, but she was having a hard time keeping track of all of them. The shadows flew against the glass of the windows, shattering them as contact was made. Even more screaming and panic could be heard. Akimoto clenched her teeth.

"Stay away from them!" Akimoto grasped onto her microphone with both hands as she created a tornado the width of her body that spun at incredible speeds. The winds were strong enough to grab some of the creatures and pull them into the vortex from wherever they were. _They might be able to go through solid matter, but there's no way they can escape my wind._ She saw them swirling round and round and attempting to fly free, but they were trapped. However, Akimoto wasn't convinced that she got them all, so she kept at it. _Once I have them all, we'll see if they can survive a tunnel of fire!_

At that moment, Akimoto heard shrieks and cries from some students. They were, in fact, all hanging on for their dear lives for whatever sturdy surface they could find. Akimoto gasped. She released her power and the tornado dissipated. The shadow creatures flew free.

"There's too many people here. I can't go all out..."

Loud crashes were then heard on the other side of the building where Akimoto couldn't see. There was destruction going on all sides of the school. How could she protect the whole thing?!

She had an idea. Using her power over earth, she created a large column for her to stand on that was lifted high into the air. It stopped growing once she was able to see the entire school. She was horrified to find more cars that had been crashed into walls and even uprooted trees jammed into windows.

"What...what do I do?"

Akimoto gasped in horror as she witnessed three large trucks carrying tanks of gasoline being flung into the sky ready to (probably) explode on impact.

"That's. Going. Too. Far!" Akimoto created a huge translucent dome barrier that encircled the entire schoolgrounds. The trucks, as predicted, exploded the moment they hit the barrier's surface. The force from the explosion was so intense that it completely blew Akimoto off of her column and made her lose her grip on her wand. "Oh no!" She went hurdling down towards the ground.

Just then, five figures arrived just below her and spread out a large sheet of some kind that they all pulled from its edges. Akimoto fell on top of it and bounced safely. She blinked in surprise. The five people who helped her were all wearing hooded cloaks that covered their heads and faces.

"Who...?" Akimoto asked.

One of them lifted their hood slightly away from their face.

"Kyo!" Akimoto said in surprise. She then looked around to the rest of them. They all slightly lifted their hoods. It was Yuki, Arisa, Saki, and Tohru. "Everyone! What're you—why do you all look like that? Why're you here?"

"We came to help you!" Tohru said. Her whole body was shaking from fear, but she tried to put on a brave smile.

"Everyone inside was in such a panic that it was easy for us to snag these robes from the drama club," Arisa told her. "Yuki here figured it was best that no one could recognize us."

"We would have gotten here sooner if we didn't have to dress up," Kyo said with an annoyed tone.

"You all shouldn't be here," Akimoto said, panicked. "I mean, thanks for your help, but it's too dangerous for you to be here."

Yuki handed Akimoto her wand. "We know that we're probably in over our heads here, but we wanted to support you. Besides, it's our school too, so we have a bit of an obligation."

"Also, _we're_ in over our heads? You almost died!" Arisa scolded her.

"I sensed those awful creatures before..." Saki said as she watched the shadows. Everyone turned their attention to them. "I had no idea what they were and why I suddenly had goosebumps. All I know is that they are concentrated negative energy." She addressed Akimoto. "Do you know why they're here or what they are?"

Akimoto shook her head. "I have no idea. They've been stalking me for a while but...I had no idea they were capable of all of _this_." The shadows crept closer. "You all need to go _now_!"

"Why're you shooing them away, cousin? The party is just getting good," said an unfamiliar female voice. A couple of the shadows were at Akimoto's feet, anchoring her in place. She then felt a presence behind her lifting her arms up without consent. Long, slender shadowy arms resembling human arms twisted around hers as one of them made her lift the hand holding her wand and pointed the head of it towards her friends. They all had a look of fear and shock on their faces Akimoto tried to struggle free, but her body was stiff.

"What's...happening...?" Akimoto strained.

"I'm just helping out a little. I hope you don't mind," the female voice had a Southern-belle accent to it. Was one of those shadow creatures actually talking?

"Who...who are you?"

"Shh...now's not the time for introductions, that'll come a bit later."

"Get away from her!" Kyo demanded as he took a step forward.

"Ooo, feisty! I like it when they get fired up," the creature said. "Tell me, Akimoto, or can I call you Aki? Either way, tell me how it made you feel when everyone turned their backs on you." She forced Akimoto to point her wand at Yuki. "This one barely ever made time for you." Then to Saki. "This one told her friends to stay away from you." Then to Tohru and Arisa. "They listened." Then to Kyo. "This one ignored you and had the nerve to ignore and even reject your feelings." And then finally, to the school. "And how could you possibly forget everyone turning against you. You didn't even do very much to them, but they all thought of you as a monster. How did that make you feel?"

Akimoto was too busy trying to force her way free and actively tried to ignore her words. Another pair of hands took hold of Akimoto's head and forced her to face the group ahead of her. She couldn't even move her neck.

"Just look at them. They're all so weak," said the creature. "They don't understand you, do they? They won't ever really understand. And they aren't worth sparing. Except...maybe that one." She had Akimoto point towards Saki. "She is like us, after all."

_Us?_

"Release your power Aki. Just let it all burn. Or, if you want to stay faithful to your element, blow them all away into oblivion. With your power, the possibilities are endless. It'd be so easy..."

The group just stood there, all frozen from fear. With the exception of Tohru, they all glared at the creature controlling Akimoto's body.

"Aki..." Kyo pleaded.

"Miss Tsubaki?"

After a few moments of coercion, Akimoto dug down deep inside of herself and let out a large wail as a burst of silver energy shot out of her as blades of wind that blew the dark creatures off and away from her. She dropped to the ground and panted. Her friends rushed up to her to see if she was okay.

Akimoto turned around to face the creature that spoke to her, but she was gone. In fact, at that moment, all of the shadow creatures had disappeared.

"Where'd they go?!" Kyo demanded.

"They're completely out of sight!" Yuki pointed out.

Arisa turned to Akimoto and Saki. "Are you two sensing anything?"

Both of them were quiet as they searched within themselves.

Akimoto shook her head. "I'm not getting anything."

"They've left..." Saki said.

They all sighed in relief.

"That was so scary!" Tohru said almost passing out. Arisa caught her and helped her stay up.

"You did great Tohru. You were very brave," she told her. She then addressed Akimoto. "I'm sure glad you're on our side. That could have turned out way worse."

"Yeah..." Akimoto was trying to process everything that happened.

"Are you alright Miss Tsubaki?" Yuki asked with concern. "That thing completely had you in its grasp."

Akimoto looked down at the hand holding her microphone. "I...think so..." _That thing was able to get so close to me. She could have done anything, so why did she only taunt me?_

"You sure?" Kyo asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded. _That one was different from the rest of them._ She remembered the hands that wrapped around her arms. "That one that was controlling me; what did she look like?"

Arisa looked troubled. "I couldn't get a good look of her. I saw those creepy arms holding yours up and what looked like either shadowy tentacles or pigtails coming from its head. Couldn't really see her face. She was covering it with your head."

"She said that we were like her," Saki said. "What did she mean by that?"  
  
Akimoto shook her head. "I'm not sure." _But I know who does._

As the sounds of panic and scrambling could be heard from the school, the group suddenly remembered the predicament they were in.

Akimoto gasped and looked at her friends. "They're probably going to evacuate the school. You all need to get back to your classes before they realize you're gone. They'll want to make sure all students are well and accounted for."

Yuki nodded. "You're right. We should get back."  
  
"What about you?" Tohru asked.

Akimoto's expression saddened. "I..."

"You're not coming back, are you?" Saki asked.

Akimoto gave a small, sad smile.

Kyo looked shocked and had a slight look of fear in his expression. "What do you..."

"Why not?" Tohru asked.

"If I had to guess, probably because everyone found out her secret, right?" Arisa speculated. "You'll have to lay low so that the government and authorities don't try to get their hands on you."

Akimoto looked away as she quietly fumbled through a "Yeah...that's it..."

"Oh!" Tohru said with a bit of relief. "Then you won't be gone forever! We'll get to see you again! Right, Tsu?" Tohru held Akimoto's hand and beamed at her after giving Akimoto her new nickname.

Akimoto grimaced with guilt. _I wish that were the case..._ Akimoto smiled sadly at her. "...sure..."

"Come on everyone, we have to get back now," Yuki told them.

Tohru gave Akimoto a quick, small hug and then waved her good-bye as she ran off.

"Good luck out there! And make it back in one piece" Arisa said back to Akimoto as she followed her friend.

Kyo hesitated as he had a pained look on his face.

Akimoto assured him. "I'll meet you back at Shigure's place, I promise. Just go on so you don't get into trouble."

Kyo clenched his fists. "You're not lying?"

Akimoto honestly wasn't sure. "No. I'll be there."

And with that, Kyo ran off to join the others.

Saki remained, staring at Akimoto. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah...soon, I think..."

"Well...when you return, whenever that'll be, I'd like you to come find me. While you're on your adventures, I want you to find out what we are, and I want you to let me know. Can you do that for me?"

"What if...what if you won't remember who I am?"

"I'll remember. We all will. We'll find a way; I can feel it." Saki then smiled at Akimoto and held out her hand.

Akimoto smiled back and shook her hand in solidarity.

"Until we meet again."

==============================

Later that evening, after a lot of processing and clearing the students and faculty and checking for any injuries (luckily, there were no fatalities or life-threatening wounds), everyone was allowed to go home. Police, detectives, newscasters and a whole bunch of other related parties remained on the scene, wondering what the heck happened at that school.

Yuki and Kyo ran home as fast as they could.

 _You'd better still be there Aki!_ Kyo thought as he ran.

The two of them reached the door and Kyo slammed it open. Shigure met them at the door.

"I heard what happened, I'm so glad you two are okay!"

"Where's Aki?" Kyo yelled.

Shigure looked a bit nervous. "Well..."  
  
Kyo's heart sank. "No..."  
  
"Wait...she's not..." Yuki tried to talk.

The two boys stared angrily and regrettably at the ground.

Just then, Akimoto came walking down the steps. "You're finally back!"

Kyo and Yuki looked up at her with shock and relief.

"I hope they didn't give you too much trouble..." She told them. "They didn't find out you're the ones who helped me, did they?"

Shigure smiled. "Akimoto had to hide up on the roof and in the woods when she got home. You can bet some cops and detectives were around trying to find her. All of this is such a mess." He shrugged. "I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of them either."

Yuki smiled at her. "Miss Tsubaki..."

Kyo growled and stomped his foot in anger, trying to hide his relief. "You idiot! Don't scare us like that!"

She blinked at him while having on her poker face. "I told you I'd be here when you got back, didn't I?"

Kyo blushed and then turned away, crossing his arms. "Yeah well...don't sound so darn ominous next time!"

Akimoto turned her head so that no one could see her small, sad smile.

Turning away from them, she began to walk towards the kitchen. "I'm sure everyone is hungry. I'll go prepare a light dinner."

"Thank you, Akimoto. You're always so good to us!" Shigure said, graciously.

She continued to walk in silence, anticipating the inevitable future.


	16. Thank You For Being a Friend

After the incident at the school with those shadow creatures, the town was understandably panicked. Those shadow creatures hadn't shown up again, but knowing how many high schoolers almost lost their lives to these otherworldly beings really put everyone on edge. During the attack, some of the high schoolers took out their phones and recorded videos of the fight that ensured between the creatures and Akimoto. The videos were shown to the local news stations and broadcasted throughout the country (and probably the world). This was the first time such a supernatural event had happened with so many witnesses, that it took the world by storm.

There was a definitely acknowledgement that Akimoto was the one who saved everyone at that high school, and, naturally, the government, newscasters, and just about everyone wanted to meet her. They swarmed Shigure's house, trying to have a moment with her. Akimoto hid away during these bothersome times; hiding in a tree or burrowing under the ground. Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo tried to shoo them all away, but they persisted and even tried to interview them too. Their insistence highly aggravated Kyo.

He'd yell at them, "FOR THE LAST TIME, SHE'S NOT HERE, SO LEAVE US ALONE!" and would slam the door in their faces. It took all of his will-power to not break down and clobber them all. Yuki was getting annoyed too, but he did a much better job keeping his composure.

Shigure pretended to not be bothered by it. "If you think about it, this reaction is pretty natural."

"I don't give a darn!" Kyo snapped. "They don't have a right to get up in our business like this!"

  
  
"I must agree," Yuki said, exasperated. "This is ridiculous. I mean, I understand why they're doing this to a degree, but did they really think Miss Tsubaki would want this kind of attention? This is borderline harassment."

Kyo growls. "Aki is off hiding in a hole somewhere all alone. She can't even live a normal life anymore."

"None of us can at this rate," Yuki added.

Shigure looked out of the window towards the mob. "What to do..."

=============================

From a different vantage point, Akimoto watched the mob surround Shigure's house. She frowned.

_They're going through all of this because of me. I have to do something!_

Akimoto discreetly left her hiding spot and made her way towards the group of people.

She took out her wand and activated her glowing symbols.

"Hey!" She called out. The crowd was so big and so loud that they didn't hear her. Akimoto sighed in frustration. Looking up, she saw a large cloud in the sky. She used her powers over water to transform it back into the state of water and made the stream of silver-lit water float all around the outside of Shigure's house like a ribbon. The crowd saw the ribbon of water and followed it with their gazes. Once they saw that Akimoto was the one controlling it and realized that she was the girl from the video, they all began to chase after her.

Akimoto ran away from them, trying to distance them from Shigure's house. For a short while, she was able to keep them away from her, but it didn't take long before she felt winded. She might have been fairly proficient at using her powers, but physical activity wasn't her strong suit.

It was time to lose them.

Akimoto stopped and used her power over earth to create a dome made out of rock to completely hide in. When the mob reached the dome, some of the people shouted and banged on it, claiming that they just wanted to talk or that they wanted some answers.

What they didn't know was that Akimoto was using the dome to hide the back that she was burrowing a tunnel directly underneath them towards Shigure's house. She completely left them in the dust.

Eventually, Akimoto dug herself out of the ground in Shigure's backyard. The crowd was completely gone at this point, thinking that it had caught up to her. She entered the house from the back, letting everyone know that she had returned.

Kyo and Yuki went to greet her, both relieved.

"Are you okay?" Kyo asked, noticing how out of breath she was.

Still trying to catch her breath, Akimoto nodded.

"That was really clever thinking, Miss Tsubaki," Yuki complimented. "Thanks for getting rid of them."

Shigure approached. "As useful as that act was, they'll be back for sure. Once they realize that Akimoto left them behind, they'll just swing right back here."

"Shigure's right," Akimoto said. "I can't stay here. It'll only cause you all more grief."  
  
Kyo raised his voice. "We aren't leaving you!"

Shigure fanned himself with a paper fan. "Even if you did leave, they'd still swarm us. After all, we're the closest ones to you so they'll assume we know where you are."

"We all need to leave, then," said Yuki. "At least for a little while. The school is still closed, so now might be the best time to lay low."

"Where the heck can we go to avoid all those creeps?" Kyo asked.

Shigure thought about it for a few moments and then smiled confidently. "I may have an idea."

====================================

Shigure had made arrangements for him, Akimoto, Yuki, and Kyo to be taken to the Sohma summer lake house. It took another round of Akimoto distracting the nosy crowd by leading them in a completely opposite direction, but once they were busy and Akimoto made her way back to the others, they slipped away in the dark of night via car off to the obscure location.

It took a few hours to get there, but once they had arrived, they were instantly relieved by the lack of loud groups of people. No one would have thought to look for them here, so they would finally be at peace.

Deep down, however, Akimoto still felt bad for how much trouble she brought to these people's lives. They shouldn't have been harassed so much that they were forced to run from their home. Logically, she knew she had to fight those shadow creatures. Otherwise, many people could have died. But her interference in their lives started way before that incident occurred.

Over the next few days, the four of them relaxed around the lake house. The location was fairly isolated, so Akimoto felt a little freer to use her powers, but still kept some healthy caution as to not use them out in the open. Kyo and Yuki enjoyed seeing her use her powers and felt joy and pride in the fact that they helped her gain more control over them.

As the sun was beginning to set one evening, Yuki had a thought that he wanted to discuss. "Miss Tsubaki? I was wondering something."

"What is it?"

"Do you absolutely need your wand in order to use your powers?"

"Hmm..." She gave it some thought before finally remembering something. "Huh...I suppose I technically don't."

"What do you mean?" Kyo asked.

"Back in the Feudal Era, I had lost my wand temporarily. There was this one demon who was trying to harm me with a blast of fire. Using only my hands, I was able to redirect the flames right back at towards him." She looked down at her microphone. "So much was happening that day that I didn't stop to really think about how I was able to do that."

Yuki smiled at her. "Perhaps that should be your next goal, then: learn how to use your powers without your wand."

"Just think of how more powerful you'll be!" Kyo said, excitedly. "And you won't have to worry about being helpless when you don't have that thing around. Had we not been there to catch you during your fight with those things at the school..." His smile dropped as his words trailed off.

Akimoto frowned too as she looked away. "You're right. You're both right. I've been in too many situations now that became dangerous all because I was separated from my wand." _If I'm truly going to be useful, then I need to wean myself off this._ She remembers how the wand came to be: Taiitsukun pulled out Akimoto's own energy and it manifested as the microphone. _This wand came from me. It is a part of me. The potential to use these powers were always there. Alright. I understand what needs to be done._ Akimoto smiles at the boys. "Thank you. Both of you. You've helped me so much and I have no idea how I'm going to repay you."

Kyo chuckled. "You can start by not making such a big deal out of it. Besides, I think you paid us back plenty when you saved us from those shadow things."

Yuki smiled back. "So, when shall we begin your next round of training?"

Her smile turned sad. "Well, I—"

At that moment, Shigure came outside to see them. "Oh! You guys are still out here? I thought you would be getting ready by now."

"Getting ready for what?" Yuki asked.

Shigure looked confused and a bit surprised. "Didn't I tell you? Akito will be over in a few minutes."

Yuki, Akimoto, and Kyo were all shocked. "What?!"

"Why the heck is he coming here?" Kyo asked aggressively.

"How did he find out we were here?" Akimoto asked.

"How do you think we were allowed to come here?" Shigure told them. "Akito is the head of our family, I had to ask him if we could come. It's his job to keep tabs on his family members. I thought it would be nice to extend an invitation to him—you know, to help erase all of the bad blood between you all."

"Shigure, you idiot! After everything we've gone through, you just up and invited him?" Kyo was clenching his fists. "He's only coming to cause trouble!"

"Now, now Kyo. You don't know that for sure."  
  


"It doesn't take a genius, Shigure," Yuki said dryly, glaring at him.

"What are we going to do?" Akimoto whispered to herself. She was experiencing a mix of fear and anger knowing that Akito was near. She feared that he would cause more trouble for everyone and that she might do something to him that she might regret. But she was so angry at everything that he's done. While, yes, her presence in that world had caused some turbulence, Akito was almost always the one to make any situation much worse. He was nothing but a pain for his family. _I shouldn't see him. Maybe if I'm not here, he'll go easier on everyone._

Akimoto began to back away from the three guys slowly. After a few steps, she bumped into something.

Or rather, someone.

"Going somewhere Miss Akimoto Tsubaki?"

Akimoto gasped as she took a step away from them and turned around to face them. "Akito!"

Akito looked down at Akimoto with a devious grin.

Shigure greeted him cheerfully. "Ah, Akito! I'm glad you made it here safely."

"Thank you so much for inviting me here, Shigure. After all, I wanted to make sure that you are were okay after that nasty incident at your school. I was absolutely terrified for all of you." He continued to look down at Akimoto.

Akimoto, after realizing that she was glaring at Akito, put her apathetic poker face back on. She didn't want Akito knowing that he affected her so much. Kyo had no such filter and continued to give Akito the death stare. Yuki looked concerned and uneasy.

"I wanted to thank you Miss Akimoto for saving my dear little cousins. I saw your acts of bravery on the news and I just had to thank you in person."

Akimoto looked away, refusing to look him in the eye.

"I'm trying to be nice, you know," Akito said, his tone getting progressively more annoyed.

Akimoto stayed silent.

"Oh, I see! You're still upset about the Kagura thing, aren't you?"

 _The Kagura thing...the Kyo thing...the school thing..._ Akimoto thought to herself.

"I apologize. Really, I'm sorry," Akito said. "Please understand I only did what I did to protect my family. My methods may seem harsh, but it all comes from a place of love. But I know now that you wanted to protect them as well. We're not so different, you and I."

That struck a chord within Akimoto. She was about to break her composure and snap at Akito when Yuki smoothly intercepted and placed himself in front of Akimoto.

"Miss Tsubaki has been through a lot lately, Akito. So...uh..." Yuki struggled to get out the rest of his demand.

Akito smiled at him. "Why hello there, Yuki. Long time no see. I'm so happy that you're still doing well."

Yuki didn't respond.   
  
"I've gotta say, I do miss having you around, though." Akito began to lift his hand up towards Yuki's face. "After that scary situation at your school with those monsters, I would be happy to have you come back home with me—"

"Don't. Touch. Him." Akimoto activated her glowing symbols and stepped out from behind Yuki. She once again glared at Akito, making sure he saw fully well that she was ready to defend at any moment.

Akito's eyes widened in fear and he lowered his hand. He then cleared his throat and tried to return to his calm composure. "I was only trying to show my family member some affection. I wasn't going to harm him. Promise. Yuki and I go way back. We used to play together all the time as children. Isn't that right, Yuki?"

Yuki's lips trembled and his whole body shook from fear. He avoided Akito's gaze.

Akimoto noticed how uncomfortable Yuki was. _Akito hurt you too, didn't he?_

Yuki finally spoke up. "Akito...we just wanted some peace...that's all we want."

"Oh, Yuki," Akito shook his head. "That's all any of us want. But you should know better than anyone that peace is short lived. You can't escape forever."

"Just tell us what you want already!" Kyo shouted over from his spot.

Akito chuckled. "So impatient. Fine, fine." He turned to Akimoto. "I've come to throw in the white towel. I give up Miss Akimoto; you win."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I fully realize that I cannot defeat you. You're too powerful and no matter what I do, I can't get anyone to dislike you—well, no one I care about anyway. There is no point in me trying to best you when you can't be bested."

Akimoto, skeptical, says, "Uh...huh..."

"I just wanted to tell you in person that you are free to be around my family for as long as you'd like. You can be friends with Shigure. You can be friends with Yuki. And you can have Kyo all to yourself."

Akimoto and Kyo blushed at that statement.

Akimoto stuttered a response. "I-I never s-said that I—"

Akito held up his index finger at Akimoto. "All I ask is for one thing."

Akimoto narrowed her eyes. "What's...that...?"

"I just ask that you fully accept every aspect of every member of my family. The good, the bad...and the ugly."

_What's that supposed to mean?_

Akito held his hand out to Kyo. "Kyo, please come here. I wish to give you my blessing."

Kyo remained in his spot.

Akito frowned. "Come now, Kyo. If you really wish to be rid of me, then come here. Allow me to do you this favor."

Hesistantly, Kyo approached Akito, silently hating himself for complying. Kyo stopped in front of him.

"Take my hand, Kyo, so that I can properly bless you," Akito said, smiling.

"You're really going to back off after this?" Kyo asked, also skeptical.

"If Miss Akimoto agrees with my condition, then certainly."

Kyo slowly placed his hand into Akito's.

"No, the other hand," Akito said with a chilling tone.

Kyo's body tensed and his eyes widened in horror.

"What's wrong, Kyo? Don't you want to be free of me? Unless..." His expression turned cold. "Unless you're saying that you don't trust me... I don't know if I want to give my blessings to someone who has no faith in me..."

"Kyo, you don't have to listen to him if you don't want to," Akimoto told him. "You don't need his blessing. I'll protect you. I'll protect all of you from him. Something about this just seems wrong."

"Don't speak up about things you don't understand, girl," Akito told her. "We're a family and families have their traditions and expectations. Kyo knows this. We all know that you can protect him. This is just a formality. Please just humor me, Kyo, and I will be on my way."

Kyo slowly switched his hands, his body seemingly moving on autopilot as he seemed to be stuck in a state of shock; a million thoughts running through his mind.

Once his hand was in Akito's, Akito grinned. "See, that wasn't so hard, right?" Kyo said nothing. "Now, Kyo, you and I know perfectly well what you are, but does she?" Kyo's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen and he tried to take his hand away, but Akito tightened his grip. "I will not interfere in your lives with this girl..." With one swift motion, Akito slid off the beaded bracelet from around Kyo's wrist and threw it to the ground. "...but first she must see the monster you really are." Kyo looked at him in horror. "I wonder if she'll still care about you after seeing it." He backed away several steps as he watched events unfold.

At that moment, Kyo's body began to transform. His eyes turned blood red and his nose widened and grew out into a large muzzle. His teeth became sharp and plentiful while his skin turned into a leathery, burnt orange texture. His body expanded to about the size of a car. His neck, torso, and limbs all lengthened, and he grew long, sharp claws on each paw. A foul odor seeped through Kyo's skin as smoke leaked through his pours. All the while, Kyo was screeching out in pain.

Yuki, who was next to Kyo while this weas happening, was frozen in fear by this monster he had never seen before. His body wouldn't react the way he wanted it to. Shigure's expression was serious as he watched on.

"Kyo..." Akimoto watched in dread as Kyo was forced to endure this. Yes, she was shocked that this was even happening at all, but she was much more concerned about his cries. He didn't want this. How could she stop it? She took a step towards him. "Kyo?"

Kyo emitted a loud, deep roar and then proceeded to violently smack Yuki away with his giant paw.

"Yuki!" Akimoto used her power over wind to create a pocket of wind for Yuki to land on as to not hit a hard surface. He was out cold. Akimoto laid him down onto the ground gently.

Kyo took this as an opportunity to quickly leap and sprint away from the area.

"Kyo!" Akimoto called out.

"Frightening, isn't he?" Akito said, smugly. "Absolutely abhorrent. Is _that_ what you want Akimoto? If so, then you two deserve each other."

Akimoto faced away from Akito and towards the direction that Kyo sprinted off towards. "I haven't been on my journey for very long, but I have encountered and fought off many types of monsters and demons. You, Akito, are, by far, one of the worst monsters I've come across. I'm going to save Kyo. And when I get back, you better be gone. Because if you're not... _I'll show you just how much of a witch I can be_." She then sprinted off after him into the wilderness.

Akito only frowned and glared off in their direction.

==================================

Akimoto chased after Kyo, following the sounds of his grunts, footsteps, or whatever sound that seemed out of place for that environment. The sun was setting, and the surrounding area was becoming darker. If it became too dark, she might lose him for good.

"He's probably not too far away if I can still hear him," Akimoto told herself. "I need to block his path so he can't get away!" Akimoto once again created a large translucent dome barrier with the diameter of that of a football field. After a few moments, she saw one section of the barrier vibrating and rolling into small shockwaves. She ran towards that direction.

It wasn't long before she could see that the disturbance was Kyo's monstrous form trying to punch and slash his way past the barrier wall, but to no avail.

"Let me out! Let me out!" She heard his distorted voice repeat over and over.

"Kyo!" Akimoto called out.

He continued to attack the barrier.

She stepped towards him. "Kyo...it's me, Aki. Can you hear me?"

His assault continued.

"Kyo...let me help..." She preemptively put up another mini translucent dome barrier around herself as she approached him.

When she got too close, Kyo stopped attempting to break through the wall and attacked her, shouting, "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" He swiped at her, but his attack was in vain since she had her barrier protecting her. He then swiftly leaped to another part of the area, out of sight. He was still trapped within the dome, so he couldn't go any where too far. However, Akimoto was still very concerned about him and followed in his tracks.

Once again, she saw a section of the barrier being disturbed so she followed it. As expected, Kyo was trying to claw his way out.

Akimoto tried to approach him again. "That's not going to work, Kyo. You can't break past my energy. Let me help you."

When she got closer, Kyo jumped on top of her personal barrier and furiously slashed at it, trying to break through to get to her.

"JUST LEAVE HERE AND LET ME GO!" He demanded.

"No!" She shouted at him. "I'm not giving up on you!"

After a while, Kyo realized that trying to break through her barrier was futile, so he jumped off and started to vigorously dig into the ground.

Akimoto watched him. "What're you..." She then thought about it for a few seconds. She called out to him. "You can't dig you're way out of here. I'm not letting you go!" She then began to control the earth under Kyo, it adopted her silver aura as she manipulated it to rise up and cup Kyo's body in a rounded shell; only his neck and head stuck out of it. "I'm sorry I have to do that, Kyo, but I just need you to be calm—"

At that moment, Kyo completely broke the shell with his brute strength, sending rock bits flying through the air. Akimoto's personal barrier kept her safe from these projectiles. He then ran off in another direction again.

Akimoto sighed in frustration. "I can keep him trapped all night long, but unless I know how to turn him back, it's pointless..." She rattled her brain. _How can I fix this? I'm sure that this is a part of their curse so how—_ She gasped. Thinking back, she remembered her first encounter with the Sohmas. She landed in Kyo's lap, allowed Shigure to hug her, and Yuki successfully caught her from falling—none of them transformed. She's a neutralizer for their curse! _If I can get close to him, maybe..._

Following the sounds of his grunts and audible struggles, she found him furiously digging at the ground again.

What was going on with him? Was this form warping his true emotions? Or was he acting out what he honestly felt? For him to attack Akimoto...was he actually trying to hurt her? Or...?

Akimoto recognized this rage. She had witnessed it the first night they met. Her curse had affected him, and he lashed out at her. She remembered some of what he said: _"You're only here to make things worse for us! You think we don't already have it bad enough?! We don't want you here!"_

She knew she was a burden to them. She had definitely confirmed Kyo's fears.

But he had also said that things were bad for them already...before she even arrived, they were suffering.

He was suffering.

Not only did he have to deal with Akito, but now that she knew about this form, it was all starting to make sense. Akito had called Kyo a monster. Kyo avoided Akimoto after he attacked her that night, he felt guilty and didn't want to hurt her again. He also felt obligated to protect her against those bullies while also still keeping her and everyone else at an emotional distance.

...

...

...

Akimoto gasped in realization. _He's just like me!_ She felt her heart beat hard in her chest as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Kyo...I'm...I'm so sorry..." She slowly approached him. "I had no idea that you were in pain this whole time. I was so preoccupied with my own problems that I didn't fully notice how much help and support _you_ needed. I get it. You felt like a monster—you _feel_ like a monster. You felt feared, cast out, and abandoned; looked down on." Akimoto recalled the whispers behind her back she'd encountered as a child as well as how people would avoid her like the plague. She could only imagine that Kyo experienced something very similar. He understood her situation the entire time and she never knew.

She continued to walk slowly towards him, tears running down her cheeks as her barrier blocked each of his attacks. "You became my friend and supported me when you found out about my situation. You said nothing about yours. You just wanted a better outcome for me...you gave me the support you felt you didn't have..."

Using her wand, she conjured up a large and thick rock wall behind Kyo so that he couldn't back up anymore. "This form does not define you, Kyo. You aren't a monster. You are very strong and kind. And now, it's my turn to really help you." She finally let down her personal barrier and flung herself towards Kyo, clinging onto one of his massive forearm, embracing him.

"GET OFF OF ME—GO AWAY!" He lifted and slammed his paw onto the ground multiple times, trying to shake her off, but she held on. He then slammed her against the rock wall she made, making her whole body ache and getting her close to passing out, but she still held on, her eyes shut tight.

Akimoto rubbed her face against his arm, ignoring the pain. "You are valuable and precious, Kyo. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.

My feelings for you haven't changed."

His eyes widened as he stopped slamming her.

Her embrace tightened. "No matter how much you try to push me away, I will always like you Kyo. You are my precious friend, even if you make mistakes and even if you forget about me and what we've gone through together. I don't care what you look like, but I will always care about _you_!" Without Akimoto realizing it, the usually silver-glowing symbols began to glow a golden light.

After a few moments, Akimoto felt a different presence in her arms. She opened her eyes and realized that Kyo was back to normal and was hugging her back. His embrace made her face heat up, but she didn't let go of him. With one of his hands, he burrowed through the hair on the back of her head and tenderly held her closer to him. He too was crying.

"Thank you, Aki," he whispered. "Thank you for being here—for coming into our world and meeting me."

Akimoto tearfully smiled. "You're going to be okay, Kyo. I know you have a bright future ahead." In her mind flashed a faint memory of Akimoto playing in an unknown bright environment with someone as a child. This person smiled brightly at her—it was brighter than anything she had ever seen before. "Don't lose faith. You'll make it."

"You really were my Angel...the whole time...thank you..." He continued to hug her.

He knew what was happening and he knew that it was inevitable, but he still didn't want to let go of her.

"No...thank _you_ Kyo. Thank you...for being my friend."

And just like that, Akimoto felt herself being pushed away from that moment. She stumbled backwards into Taiitsukun's dimension and found herself staring into a viewing portal.

She saw Tohru Honda sweetly smiling and holding a contently sleeping Kyo in his cat form in her arms. The environment they were in was wet from a downpour of rain, but the sun was beginning to peak through the clouds, shining a ray of light upon them.

Akimoto spoke quietly. "Tohru...huh..." She sadly smiled at them as she watched the pair who were completely unaware of her presence. "I'm glad it's her. With her cheeriness and unconditional kindness, I know she'll make him happy and I know he'll do everything to protect her smile." She saw as Tohru began to carefully walk away, still holding Kyo. "Be well, you two...

...and farewell."

=====================

The story will be continued in Tale of a Darkened Heart (3rd Arc)


End file.
